


Hiro The Technopath

by JanneKek



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: "&" in relationships means friendship, "/" Means romantic, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angry Hiro Hamada, Attempted Kidnapping, Birthday, Bot-Fighting (Big Hero 6), Brotherly Love, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hiro Hamada, Gen, Hiro Hamada Needs a Hug, Hiro gets framed for a crime he didn't do., Human Experimentation, I have no idea why this isn't a feature, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Torture, Microbots (Big Hero 6), Mild Hurt/Comfort, Nerd Gang as side characters., No Big Hero 6 Team, No Smut, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Third Person, Per Chapter Word Count in Beginning notes, Protective Hiro Hamada, Protective Tadashi Hamada, Rated Teen And Up for occasional curse word, San Fransokyo (Big Hero 6), San Fransokyo Institute of Technology (Big Hero 6), Secret Base, Slightly Abi/Tada (Only a few scenes), Suicidal Thoughts (a few times), Tadashi Hamada Lives, Technopathy, This should be explained in somewhere more visible that wrangling guidelines, so that you can guestimate how long the chapter will take to read, technopath!Hiro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:48:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 50
Words: 108,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27863338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JanneKek/pseuds/JanneKek
Summary: Hiro discovers that he is a technopath.This along with his genuine willingness to help people (as long as the reward outweighs the risks) leads him to many unexpected situations.Those he helps more often than not become his friends.But discovering that you are so different from everyone else isn't always easy, luckily Tadashi is there to reassure him.Eventually, he ends up forming a superhero team.(Seriously I super suck at summaries.)
Relationships: Abigail Callaghan & Hiro Hamada, Abigail Callaghan & Tadashi Hamada, Cass Hamada & Hiro Hamada & Tadashi Hamada, Hiro Hamada & Original Child Character(s), Hiro Hamada & Tadashi Hamada, Megan Cruz & Hiro Hamada
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	1. The Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Let's see how long this fic will become. I'm totally hooked on anything technopath!Hiro.
> 
> Watch the movie before delving into fanfiction of any kind.
> 
> Technopathy = Sci-fi superpower. Ability to control and/or communicate with electrical/electronic devices with one's mind.
> 
> There probably are a few He/She mess-ups in this fic. English is not my native language.
> 
> Note: Also in the process of changing the formatting of the chapters to be more readable, while also ~~mixing~~ fixing ;coughs; some of the mistakes in there.  
> Current Progress: 10/?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro and Tadashi experience the fire and Hiro gets a migraine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~1500 words

It was already dark outside, and two boys were leaning onto the railing of a bridge looking over the campus of San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. One of the boys, the younger one, about 14 years of age, had a smug expression on his face.

“I should be proud of myself because I’m finally using my gift for something important," He said imitating the older boy.

The older boy just laughed him off and responded by saying that he had had his fly down for the entire show. The younger boy exclaimed how “hilarious” that was and rested his head on the railing.

Then he glanced down, and exclaimed “What?” He then pulled his fly closed half-angrily and punched the older one on the arm playfully. The older one just laughed and exclaimed “Ow.”

“Welcome to the nerd school, nerd,” the older one said looking down at his over the moon happy brother. He had the right to be happy as he had just earned his way to the highly coveted technology college. And rightly so as his invention had been on another level.

The younger brother looked up at his older brother and tried to find the right words to say what he wanted. “Hey, I, um...I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. So, you know, thanks for not giving up on me.”

Before the older brother could respond they heard screams and alarm buzzers coming from the direction of the exhibition hall. The older one started booking it towards the source of the chaos, his younger brother not far behind.

When the two brothers got to within sight of the building, they froze in their tracks. The entire building was on fire. No, that was an understatement, it was an inferno. Whoever was inside was most likely already dead.

The older brother grabbed the hand of a coughing girl and asked if she was ok. “Yeah. I'm okay. But Professor Callaghan is still in there,” the girl replied and the older of the brothers took running toward the entrance of the building.

“Tadashi, no!” the younger brother yelled after his brother and grabbing his hand. “Please don’t go, you’ll burn alive in there,” the younger brother pleaded with a weak voice. He looked terrified even at the mention of those words.

“Callaghan is in there. Someone has to help,” the older brother looked directly into his brother’s brown eyes, which were wider than he had ever seen them before. He realized that it would break his brother’s heart if he died, but on the other hand, he couldn’t let his mentor die in the fire if there was even the slightest chance. And so, he pried himself free of his brother who was paralyzed from fear or was his head doing something, he couldn’t tell.

“Why hasn’t the fire suppression system activated” the younger one thought. If he hadn’t been in such distress, he would have found it weird how he knew that as it was equally likely that the system had worked but was overwhelmed. He closed his eyes to take a deep breath and then he felt something inside his head.

Something was beeping in his head, but what. He then felt how his brother yanked himself free and started running away from him. This temporarily disrupted his thinking, but he was more intrigued by the noise in his head, oddly enough considering his brother was literally charging headfirst into an inferno.

He then concentrated on the beeping again and now he saw a mental image of a fire alarm panel, but from the inside, if that made any sense. He could feel how the system desperately tried to activate the high expansion foam generators, but they hadn’t come online. If the fire alarm system had emotions, it would have been in panic mode.

Then he felt something else, a manual activation button. His mind quickly traced the switch to the HEF generators and then he knew exactly what to do. His mental hand slammed the big red button down and then he opened his eyes. And to his delight, the building had started filling rapidly with foam.

He looked at the sight for a moment. Then he grabbed his head with both hands and cried out in pain. All of that from the point of Tadashi shaking himself free to the fire suppression kicking in had taken less than 10 seconds. Tadashi had stopped when the building suddenly started filling with expanding foam. He then heard his brother’s cries and he turned to look at his brother who was holding onto his head.

* * *

You’re probably wondering why an exhibition hall would have high expansion foam fire suppression. Well, the building wasn’t originally an exhibition hall. It used to be the area for experimental aircraft. The program was shut down after an incident taking the lives of 15 students. The original fire suppression system was left in place when the building was converted as there was no reason to remove it.

* * *

On with the story

Tadashi knew that his professor wouldn’t burn to death now that the fire suppression had finally kicked in. So, he turned to his brother and ran over to him.

“What’s going on,” he asked his younger brother who had curled into a tiny ball, clearly in agonizing pain. Then as if right on cue the paramedics arrived. Tadashi waved them over.

“Are you two alright?” The paramedics asked when they got to them.

“I am,” Tadashi answered. “But my brother seems to be in pain from something,” he added worriedly.

“Was he in there?” The paramedics asked looking at the now much calmer fire.

“No, he was standing right here when all of a sudden I heard him scream in pain,” he explained.

“And you?” the paramedic asked with a concerned look.

“I was about to run in to save my professor when the foam system kicked in,” he said now with guilt apparent in his voice as he realized what would have been the result had the foam not stopped him.

“You’re lucky it did, otherwise you and the professor would have been gone for good,” the paramedic said looking at him with empathy while the other one was checking Hiro’s vitals. (A/N: We’re ~970 words in and this is the first mention of Hiro by name.)

“He seems to be having a severe migraine,” the second paramedic said after he was done checking Hiro. “Has he had migraines before?” The paramedic asked.

“Now that I think about it, yes,” Tadashi clicked his fingers remembering the time, “It was when he was 3 and we were in a bad car accident with our parents. Both of them perished, but we were miraculously unharmed. I remember that agonizing scream of pain that he let out when that happened.”

“All right,” the paramedic cleared his throat, “I think he can go home with you. Just give him some painkillers and if it happens again without a good reason then bring him in.”

“I will,” Tadashi replied picking Hiro up from the ground. Hiro was still curled into a ball but nuzzled closer as Tadashi carried him. Then a thought struck the older one and he took his phone out of his pocket and called his aunt.

“Tadashi! Are you alright?” Came the worried voice of their aunt, the only living relative they knew of.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tadashi replied, “But Hiro seems to be having a migraine, like the one he had when our parents died. I don’t know why though.”

“That’s good to hear, your friends are worried sick after hearing about the fire,” Aunt Cass sighed in relief.

“Would it be too much to ask to not meet them tonight? I think I need some alone time with Hiro. And besides, I’m exhausted.” he asked.

“That’s fine. Do what is best for him,” she replied knowing how Tadashi must have felt.

Tadashi then started riding home on his scooter unconscious Hiro in his lap. It didn’t take long for him to ride to the café, above which they lived.

Aunt Cass was waiting at the front door and when he saw his older nephew carry his unconscious brother, who was still curled into a ball, she looked worried but didn’t say anything. She gave Tadashi the painkillers, who nodded in response and headed straight to the third floor.

When he got there, he lowered his brother onto the bed, which was next to the messy desk, and tucked him in before taking the painkillers and setting one along with a glass of water on the edge of the table so his brother could take it when he came to. Then he headed to his bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don't have any idea of what a expansion foam fire suppression system does. Search "aircraft hangar foam fire suppression test" on YouTube.


	2. Bizarre Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strange things keep happening throughout the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~900 words

Tadashi was stirred from his sleep by the cries of pain emanating from his younger brother. He quickly got out of his bed and headed to where the sound was coming from. Tadashi saw his little brother holding onto his head and whimpering to himself.

“Hey, take the painkillers,” Tadashi said softly, gesturing toward the pills on the corner of the desk. His brother didn’t even seem to hear him. So, he took the pill and the glass of water and then put the pill into his brother’s mouth followed by water. His brother instinctively swallowed the painkillers, and it didn’t take long for the painkillers to take effect and for the poor kid to fall back to sleep.

* * *

Hiro’s dream

He was happy, he was with his family in a car driving home from a fun day out. It was dark and he looked at the lights of oncoming cars. The lights would show up and then disappear before new ones showed up. When suddenly he saw a pair of lights directly in front of them.

His parents screamed in surprise, but it was too late, it would be a collision no matter what. His mind started racing and suddenly the oncoming truck slowed down considerably, but it was still going to be lethal. Then there was a loud crash, and then the lights were gone. And then his head started hurting and he cried out in agonizing pain, not understanding what was happening.

* * *

Back to reality

Tadashi was woken from his sleep for the second time that night by his bedside lamp turning itself on and off repeatedly on its own. Then all of a sudden, the bulb exploded and then he heard his brothers whine in pain. He got up and saw that his brother was sitting upon his bed breathing heavily.

“You okay?” he asked walking over to his brother’s bed and sitting down next to him.

“Yeah, saw a nightmare. One about the accident,” came the answer weakly. It was clear to Tadashi that the nightmare had shaken his brother quite badly.

“Hey, it’s ok, I’m still here with you,” he said remembering how lucky he was to be able to say that.

“My reading light acted all weird just now, it turned itself on and off repeatedly, and then the bulb just exploded,” he said changing subjects.

“You’re pulling my nose,” his genius brother replied not believing him at all.

“Come see for yourself,” Tadashi said pulling his brother along and gesturing to the broken pieces of glass.

“That’s quite peculiar,” the genius commented.

“How’s your head by the way, is it still hurting?” Tadashi asked.

“It's fine now, I assume you gave me the medicine,” the boy replied.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” Tadashi asked with a curious yet worried expression.

“There is not much to tell. I remember thinking about the fire suppression and why it wasn’t working and…I think I may have activated it somehow,” the genius said with confusion in his own voice. “That shouldn’t be possible. Then when I saw the foam, I was happy and suddenly I got hit with the pain and you know the rest,” Hiro continued.

But little did the genius boy know; he had actually done something else as well aside from activating the fire suppression system.

“Well, if it was you, then you saved my life,” Tadashi said looking gratefully at his brother, who was tilting his head at him. The both of them went back to sleep, but Hiro had yet another dream.

* * *

Hiro’s dream

He was sitting opposite of a big man, two bots between them. His Megabot and Little Yama. (A/N: Cue Bot fight scene from the beginning of the movie 1:1, no changes, ends when Tadashi arrives.)

* * *

Back to the present

Tadashi was woken for the third time during the night. This time however the noise was coming from Hiro’s side of the room. There were sounds of metal hitting metal as if there was a bot fight going on in the bedroom. He got up and was ready to give the boy an earful for waking him up for no reason.

He saw the bots going at each other, Hiro’s bot clearly winning. But when he saw that the boy was out like a light and was obviously not controlling either of the bots the controllers of which were laying on the desk, he got a confused look and muttered: “What the hell is going on?” Apparently, he had said it a little louder than he had intended as the bots froze in their tracks and the boy shot up from his bed wide-eyed looking at confused Tadashi.

“What’s going on?” the younger of the two asked looking worriedly at his big brother.

“Your bots…They were fighting each other,” Tadashi managed to finally say.

“What? No way!” Hiro exclaimed in confusion as he looked at the bots laying on the table. “You know that’s impossible. Maybe we're just tired from all of the things that went on during yesterday,” he continued not wanting to think about the ramifications of what Tadashi had just said.

“Maybe you’re right,” he replied and went back to bed. Hiro on the other hand was thinking that this needed to be investigated. He decided to leave that until tomorrow however and went to sleep for a few more hours.


	3. The First Experiment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro and Tadashi tell their friends about the things that have happened during and after the fire. Hiro also conducts an experiment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~1000 words

It was the next morning and both of the boys woke up when Tadashi’s alarm clock sounded, signaling that it was time to get going. Hiro just groaned and pulled the blanket tighter over his body and started dosing off again. Tadashi however wanted Hiro to come down with him because his friends were eager to see how both of them were doing.

So, he grabbed Hiro’s blanket and yanked it from him. Hiro groaned again and buried his head under his pillow.

“Come on little guy, if you don’t come down with me, I’ll eat your gummy bears,” Tadashi teased his grumpy little brother.

“No, you don’t,” came the sudden reply as the boy jumped out of bed, changed into his normal clothes, and ran past him. He just laughed at his brother’s sudden burst of energy.

When Tadashi followed his younger brother downstairs, he saw that Hiro was already digging into his huge pile of pancakes and telling the nerd group about what had happened yesterday but suddenly he stopped and grabbed his head.

As he did so the lights in the café flickered. Tadashi rushed to his brother as quickly as he could, meanwhile, their friends were wondering what had happened.

“What happened here?” Tadashi asked as he knelt next to his brother.

“He was just telling us how he thought that he had somehow activated the fire suppression system when this happened,” Honey Lemon explained.

“Weird things happened last night as well. I was woken up by Hiro three times, but I don’t mind,” Tadashi revealed.

“How?” GoGo asked with his signature “not interested” look.

“Well, the first time was kind of a normal thing as Hiro was in pain from the migraine, so I gave him the painkillers because he was so out of it that he didn’t even react to me asking if he was okay,” Tadashi started.

“Did you really?” the brother in question asked looking totally lost.

“I wouldn’t say that I did if I didn’t,” Tadashi said, “Despite I wouldn’t joke with your well-being.”

“The second time was more bizarre,” Tadashi said and continued after GoGo gave him the “move along” stare, “I was woken up by my reading light. It turned on by itself and then the bulb exploded.” Wasabi gasped at the thought of glass shrapnel.

“This time Hiro was woken up by a nightmare,” Tadashi added.

“Oh, no!” Honey Lemon exclaimed with a look of worry.

“I’m fine Honey Lemon, don’t worry,” Hiro said looking directly into her eyes.

“The third one was definitely the icing on the cake,” Tadashi continued, “I woke up to Hiro’s bots fighting each other, but bizarrely Hiro was in a deep sleep.” The group gasped audibly at that.

“I then accidentally woke Hiro up in my exasperation. He didn’t seem to believe me,” Tadashi said looking at his brother thoughtfully.

“I’m not denying that it didn’t happen. I just didn’t want you to rack your brain about it at four in the morning,” Hiro said looking back at his older brother. There was also another reason, but he wouldn’t tell Tadashi that…yet.

“I’ll go upstairs to rest for a bit. That pain really did a number on me,” the younger one said pointing towards the roof.

“Besides, Tadashi, I think you should really tell them just how close to being an idiot you were yesterday,” Hiro added with a wide grin. Tadashi however had the look of shame on his face.

* * *

When Hiro got upstairs, he took his bot and placed it in front of him on the bed. He focused on the bot and felt around in his head for something out of the ordinary.

He soon found it and smiled. He heard a quiet but still audible hum coming from Megabot. He let his brain follow the hum, directing him toward the bot.

All of a sudden, he felt the bot’s microprocessor patiently waiting for instructions. He also found out that he understood the circuitry in the bot in a totally different light. Sure, he did know how the bot was put together, but this was different. More like neural pathways than wires.

He decided to try to make the bot move and he found that he was talking directly with the bot’s microprocessor in pure binary no less. He managed to make the bot stand up, but he felt so exhausted after doing so. He could also feel a slight headache coming on.

‘Maybe it’s a thing where the more I train, the easier it gets,’ he thought, ‘Maybe another time.’

* * *

His thoughts were interrupted by Tadashi who popped his head into the room.

“How are you holding up?” He asked walking up to his little brother who was sitting legs crossed on his bed.

‘Did he have a faint blue shine in his eyes?’ Tadashi wondered but decided to not pursue it.

“I’m fine, a slight headache but otherwise I’m good,” the younger one said, “Any news from yesterday?”

“Yes, actually there is,” Tadashi answered looking at his brother.

“Professor Callaghan survived the fire and because of your Microbots also the foam. Someone used them to build a barrier against the foam without the neurotransmitter that is,” he informed Hiro.

Tadashi had expected his brother to exclaim that that was impossible but instead his brother just stared at him wide-eyed and then said: “We have to go there.”

“But why?” Tadashi asked confusion apparent in his voice.

“The Microbots,” came the answer. “And I have to try out something,” Hiro added quietly.

“Try out what?” Tadashi asked now looking worried.

“I’ll tell you when I’m certain,” his brother replied confidently.

“But…” Tadashi started but was cut off by his brother.

“No buts. We’re going there and that’s final,” Hiro said, and as if to make his point the lights flickered.

‘That’s the second time today that the lights have flickered,’ Tadashi thought to himself.

“Ok, we’ll go there,” he said. His brother’s face lit up and he ran down the stairs, out of the door, and into the garage.

As Tadashi reached the café, their friends asked him where Hiro was going in such a hurry.

“Hiro wants me to take him to the expo center. Something concerning the Microbots,” he answered.

“I’ll drive you there,” Wasabi offered, “I’m also a bit interested in what Hiro is going to do in there.”

When Tadashi got to the Garage, he saw Hiro there with an empty backpack waiting for him.

“Wasabi is coming along. We’ll go in his car” Tadashi told Hiro.

“Ok, cool,” He replied but was internally a bit annoyed. He would now have to distract two people.


	4. The Microbots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro along with Tadashi and Wasabi investigate the mystery of the Microbots. Hiro also promises to tell Tadashi what is going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was fun to write.
> 
> ~1200 words

The trio got to the exhibition hall. The outside looked to be fairly intact and a police officer was standing by the door.

“Who are you?” The officer asked as the three approached.

“My name is Hiro Hamada, the inventor of the Microbots which protected Professor Callaghan from the foam. And this is my brother and my friend.” Hiro said gesturing to the two others.

“And why are you here?” the officer asked looking sympathetically at the young boy.

“I came to collect my belongings and to investigate who or what could have commanded the bots to do what they did. If there is another neurotransmitter out in the wild, I want to know about it.” Hiro explained calmly and professionally.

“All right, you seem to be trustworthy, you can go in. And since your invention saved the only life at risk, you deserve to have it back,” the officer said.

“Thank you, officer,” Hiro said and giving a glance of “you’re lucky” to his brother, who in response frowned a bit.

When the trio walked through the building, they finally saw what could only be described as a last-minute solution. Three tables formed three sides of the cubicle and a fourth one was moved to the side by the firefighters so that they could get the professor out. There were Microbots in a pile around the tables indicating that they had moved the tables there.

And sure enough, the neurotransmitter was laying on the edge of the stage but the path between the shelter and neurotransmitter was covered with collapsed lighting rigs, which would have been burning hot during the fire.

“So, Callaghan told the truth when he said that he didn’t use them,” Hiro pointed out after examining the scene.

“But who it could have been,” Wasabi asked in confusion, “If he was the only person here and the transmitter is there. That leaves ghosts as the only option.”

“We’ll have to look at the security cameras or answers,” Hiro said looking at one, which was aimed directly at the stage.

“If someone touched the transmitter then that camera saw it,” he pointed the camera out to the two others. And without waiting for answers the younger one walked over to the security booth which conveniently had an open door.

He sat down in front of the computer. It was locked, but when had a password stopped Hiro before? By the time, the two others had followed him into there he was already searching through the recording.

“There!” Tadashi said when he saw the professor surrounded by fire from all sides. They all could tell that the professor was in a panic, who wouldn’t be in that situation. Then the foam appeared, and the professor climbed onto a table to not be suffocated by it.

But suddenly the bots came and built him the shelter of tables. But strangely the neurotransmitter had not been touched by anyone. Hiro was lost in his thoughts. He was now certain that he did all of that and then the light bulb went off.

‘Of course! The massive headache was me commanding the Microbots that much without being used to it,’ Hiro thought.

“You okay, little man?” Wasabi asked, which snapped him out of it.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s just collect the bots and leave,” Hiro replied and walked out of the booth the other two behind him. The path to the neurotransmitter was blocked but there was a small opening near the floor, large enough for Hiro to crawl through.

When he got to the neurotransmitter and picked it up. He then felt the familiar hum but this time much stronger.

‘Wired connections must be stronger and so less draining,’ he reasoned as he analyzed the circuitry. The transmitter worked, but the neural pickup was out of order. But he decided to try it on anyway.

He put the transmitter onto his head and tried to move the bots…nothing, as expected. Then he connected with the transmitter and tried again, this time the bots followed his orders with only a small impact on his energy levels.

‘The physical connection makes a huge difference when compared to when I was doing this wirelessly with Megabot,’ he thought.

“It works, it really…” Tadashi exclaimed as he saw Hiro’s bots whir to life, but he stopped when he looked at his brother, whose eyes were electric blue.

When the bots carried the boy up to the two of them. Tadashi grabbed Hiro from his shoulders and looked at him concerned.

“What’s wrong Tadashi?” Hiro asked totally oblivious to what was going on.

“You’re eyes. They’re blue,” Tadashi said with concern.

“Take a picture. I want to see it too” Hiro demanded and after Tadashi had taken the picture, he stopped the connection with the transmitter. His eyes then returned back to normal.

“Now they’re normal again,” Tadashi pointed out.

“Interesting,” Hiro muttered to himself. “Show me the picture.”

“That’s a shame really,” Hiro sighed after examining the picture, “But don’t worry, it didn’t affect me at all. It just looks weird.”

“But why do they do that?” Wasabi asked finally being able to talk from his shock.

“I don’t know,” Hiro lied. “Maybe it has something to do with the neurotransmitter. Maybe it’s slightly broken,” that was technically true, but for a different reason.

Wasabi accepted that as an answer, but Tadashi wasn’t convinced. Hiro noticed that, so he approached him.

“I’m going to tell you when we get back home. I promise. You can have my gummy bears if I don’t,” he whispered to Tadashi. He accepted that since Hiro would never bargain with his gummy bears.

“Just a warning, my eyes probably will turn blue again,” Hiro said opening the link with the transmitter. Which was now easier since he already knew how it worked with this device. “And could you thank the officer on my behalf? I don’t want him to see me like this,” he asked his brother.

“Of course, I will,” he agreed and so they left, thanked the officer, and returned to the café where the others minus Fred were still waiting.

* * *

“How did it go in there?” GoGo asked looking at the tree of them.

“Good, we got the bots but still don’t know how they did what they did. No one touched the transmitter,” Wasabi said.

“But then this happened,” Tadashi continued, gesturing toward Hiro who had blue eyes since he was interfacing with the transmitter.

The group gasped and Honey Lemon rushed over to him looking extremely worried.

“Are you okay Hiro?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that the transmitter is somehow broken,” Hiro said cutting the link and causing the bots to crumble into a pile. His eyes returned to normal, “see.”

“I guess we’ll see you later,” Tadashi said looking at the group. Hiro then linked again with the transmitter and collected the bots and walked up to his room with them. Tadashi following suit.

“So, gummy bear guy, what secrets are you holding?” Tadashi asked as he saw Hiro sitting legs crossed with the neurotransmitter on his head and eyes blue. Before he could do anything else the Microbots grabbed him and brought him over to Hiro’s bed and plopping him down in front of his brother.


	5. Telling Tadashi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro tells Tadashi about his newfound abilities since he promised to do so. No way he would risk his gummy bears by not telling him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~900 words

“Where do we start?” Hiro asked taking off the transmitter after cutting the link.

“First off, is the transmitter actually broken, or did you fabricate that on the spot?” Tadashi asked looking at his brother with the “caught you red-handed” look.

“It is broken, but not in the way I told you. It’s actually totally useless to anyone but me. The neuro pickup side of it is totally busted,” Hiro replied honestly. Tadashi now had even more questions.

“Why were your eyes blue if it wasn’t the transmitter?” Tadashi asked looking worried.

“Thought you might ask something about it, but I honestly have no idea why they turn blue when I interface with devices,” Hiro replied waiting for his brother’s reaction. Tadashi’s eyes grew wide.

“Define interfacing,” Tadashi asked curiosity peeking in through the worry he had.

“The act of taking control of an electronic or electrical device and either giving commands or receiving data,” his brother replied with a dictionary definition.

“That’s not what I meant,” Tadashi pouted, “I mean what do you do when you interface with a device.”

“That’s complicated to explain, but every machine has this hum to them, and I just follow its direction,” Hiro explained, “I have this innate connection with it. I can feel and influence what the device is doing and if it has a processor of some kind, I can give it instructions directly in binary and understand the output. God this is difficult to explain in a way that a normal person could understand.” Tadashi was just staring at his brother like he just saw a ghost.

“What else?” Tadashi finally asked unsure if he wanted to know.

“Physical connection is less tiring than a wireless one. That’s why I got that massive headache at the expo.” That piqued Tadashi’s interest.

“I think you should tell Professor Callaghan that you saved him from the fire and the foam,” he said matter-of-factly, I think that he’d appreciate it.

“I definitely will, but first I want to train my abilities more,” Hiro replied with a serious expression, “Oh, one more thing. I can reverse engineer the electronics and programming of anything I interface with, in seconds. So, if you ever need any help.”

“Why do you want to train your abilities and isn’t this all a little weird?” Tadashi asked not believing his ears.

“I want to control my Microbots without the amplifier and It isn’t weird…it’s AWESOME! And also, because I don’t want to get a mega migraine if I do something subconsciously,” Hiro explained enthusiastically. Tadashi just shook his head in amusement at his brother’s enthusiasm.

“So just to sum up, you can control most electronic devices with your mind, being wired with it is not as demanding as wireless, you can talk with processors in binary and I assume you’re also fluent in binary, you can reverse engineer electronics and software without any problems. Is there anything I’m missing?” Tadashi verified.

Hiro then took his phone from the table but didn’t turn the screen on. He didn’t have to.

“What are you doing?” Tadashi asked as he saw Hiro’s eyes turn blue.

“Browsing my contact list,” He replied. When he found the contact he was looking for, he made a video call with his phone. Tadashi’s phone started ringing and when he saw that the caller was “LB, Hiro” his eyes went wide, and he answered.

“Hello Tadashi, very good you got the gist of it, but as you can see, I am also figuring out what I can do,” he heard Hiro’s thoughts.

“So, you can see the screen even if it’s not on?” Tadashi asked.

“Yes Tadashi, now I can read books even when I’m too tired to keep my eyes open. Or I don’t want you to see what I’m reading. Not to mention that I can call without making any noise. Very handy in a sticky situation,” Hiro replied, “Ultimate privacy.”

“What are you two doing in there?” Both of the boys jumped up at least a few inches. Then three things happened almost instantaneously.

First, Hiro cut the connection to his phone, which caused the, now free to operate, phone to lit up the screen and enable the microphone and the speaker.

Secondly, Tadashi moved so that he was in front of Hiro so that Aunt Cass wouldn’t see his blue eyes.

And thirdly, Aunt Cass peeked her head into the room.

“Oh, hi Aunt Cass. We were just talking about school and what we would do when it starts,” Tadashi said glancing at his brother to make sure that his eyes were back to normal.

“Oh, my two college students talking school, what else should I have expected,” she said laughing lightheartedly, “Anyway, lunch is ready.”

“Thanks, Aunt Cass, we’ll be there in just a second,” Tadashi replied. Aunt Cass nodded and headed back down.

“That was close,” Hiro pointed out when she was out of earshot.

“Yes, it was, and let’s keep this a secret from her.” Tadashi agreed.

“And from the group, at least for a few days. I’m not comfortable with them knowing yet…especially Fred,” Hiro added.

“Ok, I can respect that, gummy bear guy” Tadashi replied.

“Oh, stop that,” Hiro whined and pushed his brother onto his back on the bed. Tadashi just laughed and both of them headed downstairs to eat lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter for tonight.


	6. The MicroArmor™

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro uses microbots clearverly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~800 words

Hiro went straight for the garage workshop after he had eaten. Well, not literally, he did grab his neurotransmitter and a backpack full of Microbots from his room first. He got to the workshop and started tinkering with the neurotransmitter.

More precisely he was taking out the things that made the transmitter into a neuro-transmitter. They were bust anyway, and he didn’t need them so might as well make sure.

He had finished with the stripping of the transmitter and was about to test that it still worked, for him that is. He had just formed the link with the transmitter or maybe “amplifier” would be a better-suited term. He was about to command the bots in his backpack when Tadashi walked into the garage.

“What are you working on?” Tadashi asked looking at his brother who had the neurotransmitter held in his hands and his eyes blue.

“Testing that this thing still works after the modifications I made to it,” Hiro replied gesturing toward the pile of discarded parts on the table. He then called the Microbots from his backpack formed a heart shape with them and ordered them back to his backpack.

“Seems to be a success,” Tadashi commented looking at the Microbot's actions, “What modifications you made to it?”

“Test for yourself,” his younger brother said looking at him with a mischievous grin.

“But they are yours,” Tadashi tried to protest but Hiro wasn’t having it.

“Can’t I decide who gets to use them?” his brother retorted, “And besides, I’m fairly certain you wouldn’t be able to with that normal brain of yours.”

“Oh, you made it so only you can use it, didn’t you?” Tadashi asked confidently.

“Dashi! You were supposed to fall for that,” his little brother pouted childishly. Tadashi just laughed at his brother’s antics.

“So, what are we doing next,” Tadashi asked.

Hiro placed his transmitter on the desk and grabbed his backpack full of Microbots and dumped them in front of him. He then closed his eyes and concentrated on the hum of the Microbots. It felt totally different from the other devices he had connected to. The best way he could describe what he felt was a hivemind.

He carefully tried forming them into a cube shape and succeeded without much trouble. Then he made the Microbots into a hand still no issues. Then he wrapped his head in the bots, creating a helmet of sorts.

He realized that he was now technically in wired mode with the Microbots, so he dared to continue. He formed a glove out of them, then a chest piece, protective pants, and shoes, and then after calling more bots from the pile, a whole armor set at once.

“What are you doing?” Tadashi asked looking at his bot covered brother with a mix of confusion and worry.

“Well, Dashi. Since you’re always worried about my safety, I thought that having my personal body armor would ease your mind. So, I’m presenting you MicroArmor™,” Hiro said looking at his brother straight-faced.

Tadashi just looked at his brother stunned. He couldn’t even comprehend how his brother could think of such things.

“Why not regular body armor?” He finally managed to blurt out.

“A, it's heavy and clucky, B it’s not my invention, C Rule 456: It must be awesome, and D regular body armor doesn’t fight back,” Hiro said grinning from ear to ear. Tadashi just shook his head in disbelief.

“This is going to be fun,” Hiro exclaimed after having packed the bots but then grabbing one of them and holding it in his hand. He noticed that he was wired with all of them. “Um…Tadashi, the Microbots…They behave like an electronic hivemind,” Hiro finally said hesitating his words.

“Unbelievable, my brother is turning to be more and more special by the day,” Tadashi exclaimed looking slightly frustrated, “First he discovers that he can control tech with his mind then he reveals that he saved me and the professor and finally that he built a hivemind at the age of 14.”

Hiro had a look of worry on his face. He was not sure if Tadashi was really as frustrated as he seemed to be.

“Why do you sound like you’re mad at me?” He finally asked knowing that the situation wouldn’t change if he didn’t.

“I’m not mad at you. You just make me feel like I know nothing about you,” Tadashi sighed.

“I knew it, I should never have told you about this,” Hiro screamed with a mix of sadness and guilt. And before Tadashi could say anything Hiro had stormed out from the garage with his Microbots in tow.


	7. The Hurtful Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tadashi made Hiro upset, now he has to calm his brother down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~1000 words

Hiro made his way inside and up to his room. Once there, he sealed the doorway with the Microbots. He was holding one of them in his hands and letting his mind be absorbed by the hivemind.

He absent-mindedly ordered some of the spare bots to form a blanket around him, forming a cocoon of sorts. There he was, miserable, a freak of nature that even his brother didn’t want to have around.

He started to sob uncontrollably the whole bot hivemind shivering at the rate of his sobs and unbeknownst to him the lights in the whole house were doing the same thing. The only things in his mind were: ‘You do I have to be like this?’ and ‘Why does he hate me, am I that different?’

Meanwhile, Tadashi was shocked by his brother’s reaction. He hadn’t meant to sound so harsh and he definitely didn’t mean to upset his brother, who meant everything to him. He knew there was only one thing that he could do at this point. He had to apologize to his brother and hope that he would forgive him.

So, he got out of the garage and entered the house. Then the lights started flickering, he was fairly certain about why and it didn’t make him feel any better. He reached the stairway to the Attic room but found it to be sealed at the upper end by a black pulsating mass.

He got to the thing that was blocking his entry and realized it was formed out of Microbots. He could hear faint sobs coming from the other side of the wall. That broke his heart revealing to him just how much he hurt his brother. Then he noticed how the bots were pulsing in rhythm with his brother’s sobs.

Hiro was still sobbing uncontrollably when he felt someone knock on the Microbot door. ‘That’s weird, I don’t remember adding tactile feedback to them.’ But the thought was quickly pushed out by his miserable feelings. He could hear Tadashi say something, but it was muffled by the bots enough to make it incomprehensible.

Tadashi was getting desperate as his brother was seemingly either not hearing him or was ignoring him. He slammed his fist at the door in desperation as he did that, he heard a cry of pain coming from inside the room along with more intense sobs.

“What’s going on in there?” He asked, when he didn’t get a response, he started clawing at the black mass.

He stopped when he heard a bloodcurdling scream coming from through the door. Then all of a sudden, the bot’s grabbed his arms and pulled him through the barrier. But they did not let go of his arms after.

What he saw on the other side broke his heart. A black mass of Microbots was formed on Hiro’s bed. As he tried to approach it, the bots didn’t let him within touching distance.

“Hiro, why don’t you let me close to you,” Tadashi asked with worry in his voice.

“Because you would just continue hurting me,” came the weak reply. Tadashi’s eyes widened in confusion.

“Why would you think that?” He asked very confusedly.

“You already punched and scratched me, there is no reason to believe that you would stop,” The black mass answered.

“Wait? Do your bots have the capacity to feel?” Tadashi asked now worried.

“Apparently, I didn’t know either,” came the reply between sobs. That broke Tadashi’s heart even more as he realized he had inadvertently hurt his brother physically while he was already an emotional mess.

“I’m so sorry, Hiro. How could have I known that you share that deep of a connection with the bots? Please let me comfort you,” Tadashi pleaded almost at the point of crying.

He didn’t get a response but could feel that the bots let his hands go and allowed him to move and sit next to the black ass containing his brother.

“Hiro, would you let me see you?” He asked placing his and on top of the mass where he assumed his shoulders were. The cocoon didn’t make any move to open, instead, it shrank to a smaller size.

“Hiro, why are you mad at me?” Tadashi asked desperately trying to get through to his brother.

“You hate me,” came the hurt voice.

“You hate me because I’m this freak of nature. And you don’t even appreciate that I saved you from going up in flames. I never should have told you, then this wouldn’t be a problem,” then he started sobbing again. Tadashi was taken aback by his brother’s words.

“Hiro, I don’t hate you. You mean everything to me and it’s breaking my heart to see you like this. And I’m sorry that I said what I said. Please forgive me,” he pleaded, desperation clear in his voice, “I’ll do whatever you want, just please.”

It took a few seconds but then the black mass rolled over and revealed his brother’s teary eyes and a mischievous grin.

“Anything I say?” The younger one asked raising an eyebrow. Tadashi just nodded smiling. He would do anything to make his little brother happy.

“Okay, three things. One, you’ll buy me gummy bears for the next year. One of these, every single week,” Hiro said grabbing the half-empty pack of gummy bears from under his pillow and putting three in his mouth.

“Two, you will say how dumb you are for not understanding that I have emotions as well. And three, you will help me with setting up a prank on your friends.”

Tadashi was a bit shocked that his brother would come up with such demands but then he shrugged as he did deserve it after all.

“Fine, I’ll do those things.” Before he could do anything else, he was being hugged by Hiro tightly. The bots were now pulling them tighter together.

“I love you Dashi,” the younger boy said squeezing the older one tighter in more ways than just one.

“Ow, not that tight,” Tadashi yelled at the sudden tightness.

“You deserve it Dashi,” his brother stated and loosened the grip a tiny bit.

“I love you too, Hiro.” The two of them just hugged and cuddled in each other for what felt like hours. Until they were brought back down to earth by Aunt Cass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was heavy to write.


	8. Great Reveals and New Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro tells Aunt Cass about all of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~900 words
> 
> 7.1.2020 - Fleshed out the ending a bit, It felt a bit abrupt to not have Aunt Cass's reaction to hearing that Hiro did the miracle.

“What are you two doing there?” Aunt Cass asked from outside the Microbot wall, “And why is the doorway barricaded.” Tadashi looked at Hiro for confirmation whether it was ok to tell.

“We may let you know under three conditions. No freaking out, no stress eating, and definitely no gossiping.”

“Ok, I’ll agree,” Came the reply then Hiro opened the Microbot door.

Aunt Cass walked up the rest of the way and cooed at the sight of the two brothers hugging each other tightly. She sat down on Hiro’s swivel chair and asked again.

“So, what are you doing here?”

“This knucklehead made me upset pretty bad,” Hiro said and looked away from Aunt Cass to hide his eyes.

“Yeah, I said something I shouldn’t have said. And I had a hell of a time trying to get through to him.” Tadashi confirmed being intentionally vague.

“What did you say to him?” Aunt Cass asked with a concerned look on her face.

“I just snapped at him about how he has revealed something big to me daily after the fire. And I felt like I barely knew him. I guess the tone with which I said it set him off along with the fact that he voluntarily told me about them.”

“What did he reveal?” Aunt Cass asked intrigued, looking at Tadashi as if to say that it was his duty to spill the beans.

“They are not my secrets. And if I told you then he would never trust me with anything ever again,” Tadashi replied firmly, “If Hiro doesn’t want to tell you then I’m afraid that you won’t find out.”

Before Aunt Cass could say anything the Microbots started gathering towards Hiro who was sitting on the bed facing away from his Aunt. The Microbots swarmed the young genius and settled in a formation that had been referred to as MicroArmor.

“Why are you covering yourself in your bots?” Aunt Cass asked with a concerned expression.

“To feel safe,” came the reply from the now armored boy.

“From what?” she asked with a worried expression.

“From your reaction to what I’m about to tell you,” the boy replied from behind his armor.

“Whatever it is, I promise I won’t bite,” she said sincerely.

“If that’s the case then observe,” Hiro said turning around and looking at his Aunt in the eyes.

His aunt gasped before putting her hand in front of her face and then asking: “What happened to you?”

“I have always been like this. I just discovered it during the fire,” Hiro said looking at his aunt and smiling slightly.

“Then why are your eyes blue? They’re not normally that,” Aunt Cass asked looking at his younger nephew for answers.

“Here is the bombshell. I can control electronics with my mind. Notice the lack of neurotransmitter,” Hiro pointed out, letting the helmet portion of his suit disintegrate before distributing the bots among the rest of his body.

“How do you do it?” Aunt Cass asked curiosity taking over.

“Every machine has this hum; I just follow it. Hang on!” Hiro stopped as he heard the hum, but this was different more intricate.

He decided to drop the link to his bots, and they came crashing down in piles startling the other two, but Hiro didn’t notice he was already following the elusive hum.

He grabbed his brother’s hand and the hum got stronger. ‘Wait? Tadashi?’ He got through and froze at what he felt. He felt his brother’s concern for why the bots had dropped. ‘Am I in his head?’ he questioned before mentally speaking up, “Hey, Dashi. Do you hear me?”

Tadashi was looking at his brother with concern over why he had dropped the bots as he didn’t have any good explanation. His brother had just said “hang on” and then closed into his thoughts.

Suddenly he heard his brother's voice in his head: “Hey, Dashi. Do you hear me?”

“Aargh,” Tadashi exclaimed in surprise.

“I’m taking that as a yes,” Hiro’s voice continued, “Try thinking about something in response.”

Tadashi furrowed his eyebrows and then thought: “Unbelievable, now you can talk directly with people’s minds.” He heard his brother laughing like a maniac and their Aunt just looking super confused.

“So, apparently I can also interface with human brains,” Hiro said after he had calmed down enough to speak.

“Excuse me what?!” Aunt Cass exclaimed in surprise, “You’re joking.”

“No, he isn’t,” Tadashi said, “He really can talk inside my head and read back the response, right Hiro.”

“That’s correct,” Hiro confirmed. “I’d like to know how you can do that,” Tadashi asked looking at his brother quizzically.

“Human brains work on electrical signals. Maybe I can pick up on those as well. And Tadashi, your hum is really strong, even when wireless,” Hiro replied.

“Oh, by the way, I saved Tadashi and Professor Callaghan from the fire.” Hiro piped up remembering why he wanted to tell Aunt Cass in the first place, “If it wasn’t for me the whole building would be in ruins and both of them would be…dead.”

“What? You did it?” Aunt Cass asked.

“Yes, I faintly remember diving around a fire control panel, and there is no other possible way for the Microbots to have done what they did,” Hiro explained.

“Oh, I'm so proud of you,” Aunt Cass exclaimed and hugged Hiro tightly.

“Thanks, Aunt Cass,” Hiro said genuinely.

The rest of the day was spent playing games and doing fun stuff together. Tomorrow they were going to visit Callaghan who was now out of the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You could say that it was a GRAND reveal. (Look at the title, mostly unintentional.)


	9. The Rampant Robot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new threat appears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this timeline, Abigail is not stuck in the portal and is the same age as Tadashi is and attending SFIT (in robotics).
> 
> ~900 words

It was around 11 AM and Hiro and Tadashi were eating breakfast and absent-mindedly listening to the news. Suddenly the news broadcast caught their attention.

* * *

“Breaking News. A killer robot on the loose.”

The screen showed a marching robot. (A/N: Something akin to the robots from Season 2 Finale.)

“It has been confirmed that this robot was presented by Professor Robert Callaghan’s daughter Abigail Callaghan in the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology Showcase a few days ago.”

Screen showing an image from the showcase.

“However, neither of the two are suspected of this uprising. The police are absolutely helpless in front of this robot.”

A video clip of a police officer shouting “we’re gonna die!” before running off.

* * *

Both Hiro and Tadashi were absolutely stunned for a moment. Then Hiro’s hands formed tight fists and his frame stiffened signaling Tadashi that his brother was angry for some reason.

“What’s wrong?” Tadashi finally asked dying to know what got his brother so worked up.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Came the short reply. Tadashi tried to come up with something but came up with nothing.

“I really have no idea. Please just tell me,” Tadashi begged.

“A military android showcased, a fire on the same day, the same robot appears a few days later to terrorize the city. Isn’t that a bit suspicious?” Hiro explained.

“Now that you say it, yes, it is,” Tadashi nodded.

“Exactly, it stands to reason that the fire was arson. Someone set the building on fire to covertly steal the android and is now using it for committing crimes.” Hiro said with a serious expression.

Tadashi was just stunned at how quickly his brother was able to connect the dots.

“And why are you angry then?” Tadashi asked but was suspecting what the answer would be.

“I saved you and your professor from being victims of arson. And at the cost of having a headache so bad that I blacked out. Isn’t that enough reason for being angry at whoever is behind this?” Hiro asked with a frustrated voice.

“So, you feel like you have to get revenge on him for what he did?” Tadashi asked with a sympathetic look on his face.

“That. And I really can’t have a killer robot on the streets when we don’t even know what it’s capable of.” Hiro replied with bitterness in his voice.

“You’re seriously not thinking about going after it?” Tadashi asked with an expression that he usually gave his brother when he would catch him going out on bot fights.

Hiro didn’t reply, he had the determined expression, which Tadashi knew meant that Hiro would do it with or without his presence.

Tadashi sighed. He knew that he could either join his brother and help him or his brother would do it behind his back anyway.

“Fine, I’ll help you,” he finally said looking directly into Hiro’s eyes and noticed a familiar glint of happiness in them.

“Great,” Hiro exclaimed happily and hugged his brother, “Thanks, Dashi.”

Tadashi couldn’t do much more and smile at his brother.

“So, what’s the first step?” Tadashi asked after Hiro had let go of him.

“Like we talked yesterday. We’re going to go and meet Professor Callaghan and his daughter. One, so I can tell them I saved his life, and second to find out more about the robot,” Hiro explained his game plan.

“Ok, let’s go,” Tadashi said knowing that no matter of convincing would turn his brother around. And he did want to meet his professor and ask how he was doing.

Hiro’s eyes turned blue and his Microbots came down the stairs carrying his backpack and depositing it in front of him and then packing themselves in it.

“You’re taking them with you? And how did you control them without getting a headache?” Tadashi asked.

“You never know when you’re going to need them. And second, Callaghan might ask how I did it. He might not believe me unless I show him, and I don’t want to lie to him either,” Hiro reasoned.

“And as for how I controlled them remotely. They are a hivemind, where one is, all of them are,” Hiro added and showed Tadashi his Microbot necklace.

“So, the neurotransmitter is only for show, right?” Tadashi confirmed.

“Pretty much,” Hiro replied, “it’ll play a part in the prank on our friends.”

“What about the pain part? How can you use them as armor if you’ll feel the pain through it?” Tadashi asked with a concerned expression.

“It was only because I let my mind get absorbed by the Hivemind. If I control how deeply I attach to them, I won’t have touch sensitivity. I tested that last night.” Hiro revealed to his brother.

Tadashi just fluffed his brother's already messy hair before standing up and walking toward the garage, his brother close behind.

The two of them were on their way to Professor Callaghan’s apartment when Hiro happened to look behind them. What he saw made his eyes widen.

“Tadashi!”

“What Hiro?”

“The robot is chasing us!”

“Hang on!” Tadashi then made a sharp turn to a side street and then to another.

He felt something around his body and saw Hiro’s Microbots forming a protective layer around the both of them. They managed to evade the robot and soon arrived at their professor’s apartment.


	10. The Callaghan Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro and Tadashi go to meet the Callaghans, but things don't go as expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter for a change. This one is a doozie.
> 
> ~3000 words

The two brothers were standing in front of the door to the apartment in question. Both of them were a little hesitant to ring the bell.

Tadashi was nervous since he had never actually visited the professor, even though he knew where he lived. Especially now after the incident, he wasn’t sure how his professor would react.

Hiro on the other hand was nervous for totally different reasons. He was going to reveal that he wasn’t a normal 14-year-old. Well, Callaghan already knew that, but not the extent of that statement.

Before neither of the boys could muster up the courage to ring the bell, they heard footsteps from behind them.

Both of them turned to look and they recognized the girl as non-other than Abigail Callaghan.

“Ah, Tadashi. Good to see you,” the girl greeted as she noticed the brothers.

“And you must be Hiro,” she concluded looking at the boy in question.

“I am,” he replied.

“What brings you two here?” She asked.

“The fire, my Microbots, and your rampant robot,” Hiro listed the reasons.

“So, you know about it. And why does it concern you?” Abigail asked with genuine curiosity and worry in her voice.

“How about we talk more when we’re inside,” Tadashi said gesturing at the door behind them.

“Oh, right. My bad,” Abigail said giving a small laugh and opening the door and letting the two boys in after herself and closing the door behind.

“Dad, I’m home,” Abigail shouted to the apartment…no response. Hiro got goosebumps as he thought of the reasons for the silence.

They started searching the apartment and finally, Hiro found the professor in a walk-in wardrobe.

What he saw shocked him greatly. The poor professor was tied with a rope, gagged, and blindfolded.

“Professor Callaghan?” He asked as he approached cautiously. The figure started struggling as if he was in fear.

Hiro approached and took off the blindfold and the gag. The professor stopped moving and looked at the young boy for a moment before relaxing and letting out a long breath.

“Thank you, Hiro, for saving me,” the professor said looking at the boy in front of him.

“No problem professor,” Hiro replied grinning widely, knowing that the professor didn’t know that he had already saved him once. He got to work on cutting the ropes on the professor’s hands using a multitool he always had with him.

“How did you find me?” The professor asked, clearly not knowing that he was in his own apartment.

“No offense professor, but you’re in your own home,” Hiro said awkwardly, “We just happened to come to visit you at the same time that Abigail got home.”

The professor then chuckled realizing that in a different context his question would sound stupid.

“There,” Hiro said when he had finished the last of the ropes, “Can you stand up?”

“I think so,” The professor said getting up from the floor, “Let’s go and find Abigail.”

* * *

They soon got to where Abigail was searching and when she saw his dad she ran over and hugged him.

“You’re alive,” she exclaimed happily.

“I’m happy that you’re also doing good. I was afraid I would never see you again,” Callaghan confessed.

“What happened?” She asked collecting herself. Tadashi also came running having heard the commotion.

“This guy dressed in black and wearing a kabuki mask attacked me and demanded to know where those files for that failed Krei Tech project were. After I told him he knocked me out and then I woke up in that wardrobe,” Professor Callaghan explained.

“That’s terrible,” All three of the students said in unison.

“Do you have any idea who it could have been?” Abigail asked after a moment of silence.

“Yes, there is only one person who knew I had those files,” Callaghan sighed, “…Alistair Krei.”

“What? Mr. Krei? Isn’t he too high profile?” Tadashi questioned.

“Alistair wanted to buy my robot for Krei Tech during the showcase,” Abigail said next.

A light bulb went off in Hiro’s head. “Which means he’s behind all of it,” he said confidently.

Now it was Hiro who was in the figurative spotlight of “I don’t believe you.”

“Think about it, Krei wanted your robot, so he set the building on fire in order to steal it covertly. Also, Professor Callaghan, what was the Krei Tech project about?” Hiro explained to the dumbstruck group.

“It was a brain-computer interface. A bit like your neurotransmitter, but a lot more primitive,” Callaghan revealed. Hiro froze for a second before composing himself.

“Krei also wanted to buy my Microbots. He was actually after the neurotransmitter. When he couldn’t get mine, he stole the designs he knew you had.”

The room was dead silent, partly in awe of the 14-year-old and partly to the fact that Mr. Krei would do such things.

Finally, Professor Callaghan spoke up addressing Hiro, “I knew you were smart, but this is on another level of genius.”

“Thanks, professor,” Hiro grinned from ear to ear.

“So, does that mean that Krei is behind my dad almost burning alive?” Abigail asked with a slightly angry expression. Hiro glanced at his brother who nodded.

“Yes, it does,” Hiro replied, “and he is also the reason for Tadashi to almost do the same.”

“How so?” Professor Callaghan asked with a concerned look.

“He would have run into the inferno if the foam hadn’t started at just the right moment,” Hiro revealed. Tadashi looked really ashamed.

“I just couldn’t do nothing, someone had to help,” he defended.

“I appreciate the thought, but what would it have done to Hiro if you had died?” Professor Callaghan asked.

“I know, I shouldn’t have been so selfless,” Tadashi admitted looking at the floor and wishing it would eat him.

“You look like you want to fall through the floor. I can make that happen you know,” Hiro joked to lighten the mood. Everyone burst out laughing even Tadashi.

“We will catch him and make him pay,” Abigail said and looked at the two brothers expectantly.

“Great, more the merrier,” Hiro exclaimed.

Suddenly Professor Callaghan spoke up looking at the two boys: “Why did you come here in the first place?”

The brothers glanced at each other and then Hiro cleared his throat: “Well, reasons. One the foam and the Microbots during the fire. And second, Abigail’s robot.”

At this point, the group decided to move to a more comfortable place, around the kitchen table.

* * *

“What about the Microbots?” Professor Callaghan asked.

“Well, professor…”

“Please call me Robert,” the professor interjected.

“Well, Robert. You probably remember how the Microbots built you a shelter from the foam?” Hiro asked looking at the professor.

“Yes, but who and how? The transmitter was on the stage out of reach the whole time,” The professor answered.

“Yes, I thought at first that someone had a second transmitter, but it’s not possible to make another one in that timeframe. But now I know who and how it happened,” Hiro explained his thoughts.

“You do? Who saved my father?” Abigail asked eagerly. Hiro took a deep breath before answering: “I did.”

There was a deafening silence for a few minutes as the two Callaghans processed the words.

“How did you do it without the transmitter?” the professor asked.

“Well, Robert. I don’t quite understand it myself either. And if I just told you without proof, you’d laugh at me.” Hiro said measuring the professor’s expression.

“Go ahead, I won’t laugh,” the professor replied curiosity apparent in his voice.

“Well, I’m a technopath,” Hiro said looking at the two Callaghans.

“A person who can control tech with his mind?” Abigail asked in disbelief the professor joining him.

“That’s what I thought,” Hiro said with a hint of disappointment, “That’s why I brought some friends.”

Hiro linked to his Microbots and pulled them out of his backpack into a neat stack. The Callaghans just looked at Hiro like they had just seen a ghost.

“Still not enough? Surely, it’s someone else using the transmitter,” Hiro said with a mischievous grin and simultaneously cutting the link to the bots.

“Your phones please,” Hiro asked reaching out two hands.

They hesitantly gave their phones to Hiro, who added his contact information to both of them in about a second.

“Here, have them back,” he said giving the phones back to their owners both of them looked totally confused, “Now, either of you, call me.”

Abigail took his phone out and then she realized she didn’t know Hiro’s number.

“Err…What’s your number?” She asked looking at the grinning boy.

“How about finding it in your contacts,” Hiro said straight-faced like it was a perfectly normal thing to say.

When Abigail looked at her contacts. She couldn’t believe her eyes. He selected the contact he was sure wasn’t there when he last checked.

“Put it on speaker,” the young boy instructed. Abigail glanced at his phone and noticed that the call was connected. ‘When did the boy have the time to answer it?’ Abigail thought.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Ah, Abigail. Are you still not believing me?” Hiro asked looking over at the younger Callaghan who was trying to comprehend who was talking on the phone.

“What is it that makes you believe that this is a hoax?” The phone asked.

“It’s just…I just never thought I would see something from the movies in front of me.”

‘Fine, if he isn’t going to tell me why he doesn’t want to believe me. Then I’m going to ask her head directly,’ Hiro thought to himself and took a deep breath.

He ended the phone call and disconnected from the phone.

“Abigail, why don’t you want to believe me?” Hiro asked out loud.

“I really don’t’…it’s just…” Abigail tried to dodge the question.

Meanwhile, Hiro was feeling around the two unfamiliar human hums. One of which was Abigail’s. One of them was seeping awkwardness and fear, while the other was calm and curious. Hiro decided to go for the awkward and fearful one.

And sure, enough it was Abigail’s mind. What hit Hiro first was fear…immense fear…of him…his powers. He also saw glimpses of horror movies where Technopaths were using their powers for evil.

Hiro had seen enough and disconnected from her head. He then looked at his brother who raised an eyebrow. And Hiro connected to him.

“What is it?” Tadashi asked in his head.

“She’s afraid of my powers. She’s associated technopaths with villainy due to movies,” Hiro sent over.

Tadashi sighed then made a thought: “Just bring what you saw up, but be gentle.”

“Got it, Thanks Dashi,” Hiro said before cutting the link.

Hiro closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes, which were now their regular brown, and looked at Abigail.

“Abigail please, why can’t you tell me what is bothering you? Are you embarrassed to bring it up?” Hiro asked with concern.

Abigail just nodded as a response.

“Ok, you two out,” Hiro said pointing at Tadashi and the professor.

Both of them nodded and left the room.

“So, Abigail. What is bothering you?” Hiro asked with a gentle tone.

“I’m…I’m scared,” she said looking up at Hiro who had a cautious and worried look on him.

“Are you scared of my powers?” Hiro asked knowingly.

“Yes,” she replied looking frightened.

“Why are you scared of them? Is it because of those scary movies you have watched?” Hiro asked.

“Yes. But how do you know?” She asked looking at the young technopath questioningly.

“I will tell you if you throw the movies out of your mind. They are movies and not real. Whereas I’m real and I promise you that I’m not a villain,” Hiro said extending his hand, “Deal?”

Abigail hesitated for a moment before taking the hand.

“Deal.”

“Great, can you now accept that I’m a technopath and your friend?” Hiro asked looking at the girl in question.

“Yes,” The girl said confidently. “Thank you, Hiro,” she continued and hugged the young boy.

“Now tell me, how did you know about the movies?” she asked.

“Just promise me not to freak out,” Hiro said taking hold of her hand, “I can detect and interpret the electrical signals produced by your head.”

“So, you read my mind?” She asked with an “I don’t believe you” look.

“More like your mind was screaming it at anyone who would listen. And you’re good at hiding your fear by the way,” Hiro corrected her, “But that look on your face says that you don’t believe that I can infiltrate human minds.”

“I doubt it a bit but, I’d like you to show me that for real,” She asked.

“Ok, you asked for it,” Hiro stated before tapping into Abigail’s mind once again.

“Hello, Abigail. Still doubtful, are we?” He sent the thought to her.

Abigail’s eyes widened when she realized that Hiro hadn’t said anything, yet she could hear his words.

“No, you proved your point,” she thought and then added, “Those eyes are a bit creepy. And I’m sure he won’t use it against me,” she hoped that he didn’t detect the added part. She looked at the boy who had a smug expression on his face.

“Any more doubts?” Hiro asked.

Abigail didn’t have any as Hiro had proved to her that he was what he said he was, so she just shook her head.

“Great, now for your father,” the technopath said getting up and walking to the other room.

* * *

He returned a few minutes later with the two others.

“Are you alright, Abigail?” the professor asked with a concerned tone.

“I’m fine dad, I just needed a bit of reassurance,” she replied.

“So, Robert. Do you have any doubts?” Hiro asked looking at him in the eyes.

“No, no doubts. I’m more curious as to what you can do,” the professor said.

“I can control most electronic and some electrical devices. I can communicate directly with microcontrollers in pure binary and translate it both ways. I can reverse engineer most circuits and microcontroller programs in seconds,” Hiro listed.

“I can control things indefinitely if I have a physical connection with it. And if I’m wireless then it comes at the cost of a headache if I tax it too hard, operating those Microbots in the fire took quite a lot by the way. Oh, one more thing I can read human minds,” Hiro finished.

That got a reaction out of the professor.

“You can what?” He asked in complete disbelief.

“You heard right,” Hiro confirmed.

“I don’t believe for a second. Mind reading is sci-fi,” the professor protested.

“So is technopathy,” Hiro pointed out.

“Fair point,” Tadashi and Abigail both said.

“I can give you a demonstration if you want to.”

“Go ahead. Do what you want,” he said defiantly.

Hiro then tuned his head to the professor’s frequency and what came pouring out caused him to shut the connection immediately.

Apparently, Tadashi sensed something was off.

“What is it?” He asked with concern.

“Just shocked, you two hold my hands,” Hiro said looking at the two college students. They did as Hiro asked and then he shared a connection with both of them.

“I’m going to go back in there, you will see what I see, hopefully,” he sent the message.

“Do it,” both of them thought back.

And so, he opened the floodgates again. Grieving…of his wife…Anger…Hatred…Loathing…toward Alistair Krei…Admiration…toward Hiro…Worry…toward Abigail…for bot fighting.

He closed the connection, but not before sending the professor a mental message: “Hey, Robert. I’m in your head.”

“Did you guys, see that?” He sent the thought to the two teens remaining.

“Yeah, we got it,” they answered.

“I’m worried that he will do something drastic if we don’t intervene,” Hiro voiced his concern mentally.

“You’re not wrong,” Abigail said.

“All right guys, I have to stop. I’m starting to get a headache,” Hiro said.

“Let’s continue normally,” he added before closing both of the remaining connections.

“Hey Dad, you should really share your pain. It isn’t healthy to bottle things up,” Abigail said with a worried but also half accusatory voice.

“Why? I’m not in pain,” the professor said, but his eyes were in total disagreement.

“Don’t lie to me dad,” Abigail called him out, “I felt your grief and your hatred and your worry.”

“Those don’t belong to you,” the professor replied.

“Yes, they do! I miss mom as much as you do, and you never told me not to go to bot fights. I will stop going if you just ask me to,” Abigail replied, “And your hatred, it’s because of mom isn’t it?”

The older Callaghan just sighed and nodded.

“I’m worried about you. Hate can turn a person into something they are not. I fear that you will do something irreversible in your anger,” Abigail said almost sobbing.

“Please enlighten us. What is the story of your mother?” Tadashi asked.

“She worked for Krei Tech and died in a work-related accident. He hasn’t told me anything else,” Abigail told the story.

“I’m sensing that there is more than that to the truth,” Tadashi said and then addressed the professor, “If I were you, I would talk. If you don’t then my brother is more than willing to extract the information that we want by force along with anything else that pops up on the way.”

“Fine, she isn’t dead. But she isn’t alive either. Her mind got corrupted by the very same brain-computer interface that Krei stole the plans for,” the professor confessed.

“Where Is she currently?” Hiro asked.

“Kept in a Krei Tech facility,” the professor replied.

“She went into a coma and the scientists are trying to work out a solution to uncorrupt her brain,” the professor answered.

“I could maybe help,” Hiro said looking at the professor with a straight face.

“I’m fairly certain that the scientists don’t consist of telepaths,” he added.

“You would? But you barely even know me,” the professor stammered.

“Someone has to help. And besides what do we have to lose?” Hiro replied.

Tadashi chuckled at his brother’s choice to use those exact words. They had almost gotten him killed.

“Thank you so much,” the professor thanked the young boy and hugged him.

“No problem. Just promise me not to do anything stupid. And contact me when you get things set up. And don’t mention anything about my powers, okay?”

“I won’t, I will, and I won’t,” The professor replied to all of the statements. This got a laugh out of the three teens as it sounded pretty stupid.

Hiro then turned to Abigail and took her hand.

“I’m inviting you to dinner tonight. Lucky Cat Café, 6 PM. Let’s talk about this whole Krei is a bad guy thing,” Hiro said. “and about bot fights,” he added with a mental message.

“Sure. I would love to,” she replied smiling.

“See you then, Tadashi.” She added.

“See you,” he replied looking slightly flustered.

The two boys said their goodbyes and headed back home. It had been exhausting three hours and both of them headed straight upstairs and flopped onto their respective beds and fell asleep.


	11. The Super Awesome Super Armor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abigail comes over and they talk about Krei, Supersuits, which Hiro has designed, and a bit of bot fighting. Also, Hiro tests if he can manipulate Tadashi to not see him.

They woke up about an hour later and had grabbed a quick snack to hold them over until dinner. Hiro had practically sprinted to the garage with the snack in his mouth. It was clear that something was up. When Tadashi got to the garage, he noticed his brother in front of the CAD station mumbling to himself as a prototype of something seemed to come along at an inhuman speed. “What’s you’re working on?” Tadashi asked his brother. “Aargh, you almost gave me and the computer a heart attack Dashi!” His brother exclaimed as the monitor went blank. “But it’s something Awesome.”

“Computers can’t have heart attacks,” Tadashi pointed out looking at his brother amused. “You wouldn’t understand,” Hiro sighed before turning away and going back to what he had been working on. Tadashi could feel the tension in his brother, and he wondered if he had hurt his feelings again. Tadashi approached his brother but tripped and accidentally yanked the power cord of the computer his brother was using out of the socket. He was awarded a scream of pain from his brother.

He quickly got up and started comforting his brother, “I’m sorry Hiro, it was an accident. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” “I know, but you still did Dashi,” his brother pouted. “I’m also sorry for hurting your feelings. I shouldn’t assume things about computers. You’re the genius on them in every way imaginable,” Tadashi continued. “I know Dashi. And you should be more careful you butterfingered knucklehead.” Hiro accused his brother with a joking tone. Tadashi sighed in relief that he didn’t have to submit to another set of conditions. “You’re going to be my test subject tonight, you know,” Hiro said with a mischievous grin. “Too soon,” Tadashi sighed looking slightly worried.

Hiro then grabbed the power plug and plugged the computer back in and started where he had left off. Tadashi couldn’t do much more than marvel at the speed at which the computer was doing its thing. It took about an hour for Hiro to finish what he was designing. And then he began the manufacturing process. Which took around one and a half hours, for the duration of which he chased Tadashi away, “…with Microbots if I have to.” Needless to say, Tadashi had no options, even so, he didn’t leave without making a fuss.

\--- 1,5 hours earlier

“Tadashi, you need to get out now,” Hiro said. “No, I won’t,” He fussed. “Yes, you will,” Hiro stated calmly. “Make me,” he said defiantly. “Fine, I will, with Microbots if I have to,” Hiro replied. Tadashi gulped; he indeed didn’t fancy getting dragged out by Microbots. Especially when his brother was moody. “Fine, I’ll leave,” He said flailing his arms in frustration. Hiro smiled as his brother left knowing that he had won the argument.

\---

Hiro had just finished making Tadashi’s armor when he noticed someone watching him. When he turned around, he noticed that Abigail was watching him quizzically. “Ah, Abigail. You’re early,” He greeted walking up to him. “Yes, I am. What are you working on Hiro?” “Just some armor for Tadashi, but don’t tell him about it,” Hiro whispered in case Tadashi was within earshot.

“I see, what about you and me?” She asked with the playful glee that children get when they are up to something mischievous. “Mine’s already done but yours is still not ready. I don’t have measurements of you,” He replied looking slightly awkward. “Let’s take them then,” she replied without hesitation. Hiro took the scan and fixed a few dimensions in his plans before setting the parts to print. “Let’s head inside,” Hiro gestured toward the door.

The dinner was mostly uneventful. Other than Aunt Cass wanting to know, like everything, about Abigail. There were also the occasional glances from Tadashi as he tried to figure out what Hiro and Abigail were whispering about. “Tadashi, would you kiss Abigail if I asked you to?” Hiro asked his brother innocently, tapping to his mind.

Tadashi sprayed the water he had in his mouth at the moment all over himself and then exclaimed, “What? No! You can’t ask questions like that.” Hiro just snickered and turned away. Tadashi’s mind had outed his reasoning. He would never do that in front of his brother. Abigail just laughed and looked at the flustered collage boy fondly.

They retreated to the attic bedroom where they started discussing the issue at hand. “So, how are we going to approach this whole Krei is a bad guy thing?” Abigail asked. “I think we should first take out that robot,” Tadashi said, “Krei by himself isn’t much of a threat.” “So, Abigail, how is your robot built?” Hiro asked. “Made from titanium, can barely hold its own weight, it has no weapons, at least when I last saw it, No encryption in the software and wireless communication.” Abigail listed the robot’s details.

“That’s only assuming it hasn’t been messed with,” Tadashi pointed out. “True, if only there was a way for me to get my hands on it,” Hiro sighed in frustration. “You don’t intend to…do you?” Tadashi asked in exasperation, “Unbelievable.” “I have something super awesome in the garage waiting for you,” Hiro held a tongue out for his brother before being carried off by Microbots. Tadashi rushed after him more for the rude gesture than anything else. “Hey, that’s unfair,” he shouted as knee-high barricades kept popping up in front of him. “Did I say it was a competition Dashi?” he grinned. Abigail just laughed at the brother’s antics.

When Tadashi and Abigail got down to the garage neither Hiro nor the Microbots were found. “Where on earth did, he disappear to?” Tadashi questioned. “Look up Dashi” He instinctively looked up but as soon as he did that something Tackled him from behind. He winced slightly at the thought of hitting the ground face first but was instead greeted by a cushion of Microbots. He barely managed to turn around before something was sitting on top of him.

No, someone wearing entirely black was sitting on him and looking at him. or at least in his direction. “What? Who?” Tadashi asked in confusion, trying to comprehend what was going on. “How rude!” The black being exclaimed in front of him, “Here we have a true brother, doesn’t even recognize the other one.”

“Hiro, how could you?” He asked in mock anger trying to grab hold of his brother’s arm, but it was too smooth, he couldn’t get a grip. “Oh, does Little Dashi have grabby hands?” Hiro teased his brother, having switched to a purple semi-transparent visor. “No, I…please don’t,” he begged. “Oh, is Little Dashi scared of his little brother?” That got the teen flustered. “No, I…You don’t scare me,” he said confidently.

“Fine, Little Dashi isn’t scared of Big Hiro, but Little Dashi still needs his protective suit,” Hiro continued the teasing. He dropped Tadashi’s suit into his arms before walking toward Abigail. Before he could get far Tadashi punched the boy on his arm, but he didn’t get a reaction, so he tried again, and again, and again. On the fifth time, Hiro’s hand suddenly grabbed his.

“You know that is about as useless as punching rocks. But next one will be more painful; I promise you that.” Hiro said about as monotone as one can. And as if to make his point the outermost layer of bots rose up into a 90-degree position. His brother looked now more like a hedgehog. Then tiny tungsten carbide tips protruded from the tips of the bots. Tadashi looked wearily at his younger brother who now looked a lot more menacing.

“Dare to punch me now?” Hiro asked lightheartedly. “Nope, you’re good,” Tadashi said holding hands in front of him. Before Tadashi could do anything, he was being hugged by his brother. “Now Dashi, just wear your armor. I’ll talk with Abigail in the meantime.” Tadashi made a noise of agreement and Hiro took a few steps backward. “Oh, by the way. This is on film,” he said looking at Tadashi in the eyes. “I swear I will…” Tadashi started but stopped as he noticed the Microbots around him. “You will what? Hurt me?” Hiro asked sarcastically, “You know I could kill you if I wanted to.” Tadashi sighed in defeat. “You win, Technopath,” Tadashi said.

Hiro then turned around and walked to where Abigail was trying to hold her laughter. Hiro took Abigail’s hand and connected to her. “So, Abigail. I told you that we would talk bot fighting.” Hiro started the wordless discussion. “What about them?” Abigail formed the reply. “We both know that your dad doesn’t like that you go to bot fights and neither does Tadashi when I do it,” Hiro explained.

“So, what is on your mind? To quit completely?” Abigail asked in confusion. “No, they’re both worried that we’ll get ourselves hurt or even worse…” Hiro didn’t continue, he couldn’t, not after the fire. Abigail looked at the small boy with sympathy. She then took a moment to admire Hiro’s sense of what badass looks like. Hiro had by this point ditched his Microbot armor leaving behind a matt black Kevlar jumpsuit with purple accents and the letter “H” formed out of five Microbots on his chest.

“I was thinking that we should form a legal bot fighting club at school. Any school students who want to join are free to do so. No betting, just an entry fee for spectators and a small price for the winner,” Hiro explained his plan, “That way we get to fight, and our overprotective loved-ones don’t have to worry.” “I like that idea. Let’s kick the ball rolling as soon as the school year starts,” Abigail said not realizing that she had accidentally said that out loud.

“What are you two planning on doing?” Tadashi asked. Both of the bot fighters grimaced as they heard that, but Hiro was already on the move. “We were just talking about how we would do a school project together when school starts,” Hiro explained as nonchalantly as possible. “Ok, as long as it’s nothing dangerous,” Tadashi stated with concern in his voice. “It’s not. Don’t worry Dashi,” Hiro reassured him sincerely.

“You look fancy,” Abigail said gesturing to Tadashi’s armor, which was light gray with orange accents. It wasn’t heavily armored, being more geared toward agility and stealth. “Yeah, and the fit is perfect,” Tadashi added. “Now I can shadow you without you noticing,” Tadashi grinned at Hiro thinking that he had forgotten about that. “You think so?” Hiro asked sarcastically and then Tadashi’s armor’s orange accents started glowing, “Hiding in that is useless. Besides, I can still hear it.”

“Of course, you thought of that, you’re a genius after all,” Tadashi said shaking his head. “Yeah, and don’t think I don’t know that you have GPS trackers in all of my hoodies,” Hiro replied smugly, “You know I could turn them off very easily if I wanted to.” “Why haven’t you?” Tadashi asked suspiciously. “You haven’t given me a reason to do so yet,” Hiro answered truthfully.

“Why doesn’t my armor offer any protection?” Tadashi asked, looking at his brother. “It does, it just doesn’t show on the outside,” Hiro replied, and then punched his brother without warning, but he didn’t even flinch. “See,” Hiro said after Tadashi had recovered from the shock. “But again, don’t mess with me or you’ll find that it doesn’t protect quite as well, or that it protects the wrong places.” “I see,” Tadashi nodded understanding what his brother was implying.

“What about my armor?” Abigail asked, “Is it as badass as yours?” “Oh, I’m building you an Ironman suit,” Hiro replied casually. “Really? I’ve always been a huge Ironman fan,” Abigail said excitedly. “You heard right,” Hiro confirmed. “You’re the best. No one has ever made anything this cool for me,” Abigail squeaked and hugged Hiro. “Thanks, Abigail,” He replied. “How about we go to our room. I want to do some mind games,” Hiro suggested, “On Tadashi’s expense,” he added to Abigail’s thoughts.

The trio was now sitting on Hiro’s bed with their legs crossed. “As you know, we have to talk to Krei and it would be beneficial if I could scan his mind whether he’s lying or not,” Hiro said and the other two nodded in agreement. “But that comes with some complications. Mainly if I’m there to ask such questions it may make it harder for me to get a chance at saving your mom,” Hiro continued and looked at Abigail, who had a sad expression on his face. “Which means?” Tadashi asked wearily. “Which means that I will have to make him not see me. And for me to do that I have to try it out first on someone else,” Hiro answered. “Let me guess, that someone is me,” Tadashi sighed, “Go on then.”

Hiro opened a connection to his brother’s mind and moved around in it to the view recognition section. “You will not see me in this room unless someone explicitly points it out to you. After that you will be able to see me normally again,” Hiro sent the instructions to his brother’s brain. He then closed the connection and sent a wordless message to Abigail about what he had done.

“Where’s Hiro?” Tadashi asked looking around the room frantically. Hiro decided to walk right in front of Tadashi, so close their noses were almost touching. Tadashi still didn’t seem to realize. “I’m right in front of you, knucklehead,” Hiro said jabbing his brother’s chest. “Aargh, where did you come from?” Tadashi exclaimed in surprise.

“I was here all the time; you just didn’t see me. Remember, I needed to test it before Krei.” Hiro explained calmly. “Now that you…” Tadashi stopped as his mind clicked back on track, “You little…” “Hey, hey, calm down. You didn’t do anything stupid and no one saw that” Hiro calmed his brother, “On the flip side, you’re lucky that I didn’t make you tell Aunt Cass that you had a wet dream.” Tadashi went pale for a moment before nodding and deciding that this was not too bad.

“Anyway, it’s getting late. Let’s meet in front of Krei Tech tomorrow around 3PM,” Hiro suggested. “Sounds good. I’ll see you there,” Abigail agreed. Soon the two boys were alone ready to go to sleep. “Good night Dashi,” Hiro said retreating to his bed and not even bothering to take off his Kevlar suit, he had designed it to be comfortable and protective after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's always fun to geek over super stuff.   
> Next chapter or two tomorrow (12th is almost complete.)


	12. Missing Microbots and The Missing Kid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tadashi manages to piss Hiro off really badly and must now find him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A single paragraph in this chapter contains themes around suicide. I've marked it clearly in case your uncomfortable reading about it.

Hiro stirred from his sleep at some point during the night and saw Tadashi walking out of the room. “That’s odd, usually he never wakes up during the night,” he decided to ask about it in the morning and went back to sleep.

\--- Morning

Hiro had eaten his breakfast and he was in his room to collect his Microbots since they were useful in holding the various pieces of Abigail’s suit together while he attached them together. But something felt off, the hivemind was very weak when he connected to it. He ran the internal diagnostics, and it came up with 6 Microbots, five of them were embedded in his jumpsuit and the sixth was on his necklace. “Someone has stolen my Microbots from my room last night,” he concluded his thought.

“Tadashi!” He shouted for his older brother, waking him up in the process. “What is it?” He asked groggily. “Someone has stolen my Microbots last night,” Hiro practically shouted, annoyed by his brother’s sleepiness. “How dared he be sleepy during this emergency,” Hiro’s thoughts steamed. Tadashi was startled by Hiro’s loud voice.

“Who could do that?” He asked. “There are only two possibilities. You or Aunt Cass,” Hiro replied his gaze drilling into Tadashi’s tired eyes. “And what were you doing awake last night. Stealing my Microbots I presume,” he continued. Tadashi had a shocked look on his face. “I would never do such a thing,” he defended.

“Then you won’t have any qualms for me digging the truth from your mind,” Hiro said straight-faced. Tadashi gulped knowing that he had been caught. “Ok, I did touch them but I…” Tadashi started but was interrupted. “How could you? You’re just a thief,” Hiro yelled in his brother’s face and before Tadashi could say a word his brother had grabbed Megabot, stormed out of the room, down the stairs and out of the front door, slamming it shut so fast that it was heard in the whole building. By the time he had slammed the door shut every single light bulb in the building had burst excluding his desk lamp, not that he cared.

\--- Hiro’s Side

Hiro was seething at his brother. He was walking, no running as fast as he could. And he knew exactly the right kind of place where he could be alone and not be bothered by his stupid brother. He was so out of it that he didn’t even realize that every single streetlight he passed broke. It didn’t take him long to get where he was going. A quiet alleyway with a row of dumpsters and a ladder to the roof.

He climbed the ladder and found a comfortable position where he could recline on the roof. The hard surface didn’t bother him as his suit did have a small amount of padding. The wind or the cold didn’t bother him either since the suit was heated. He took Megabot in his hand and opened a connection with its processor and began teaching it emotions, in binary but still. At least then he could have a conversation with it, albeit a moody one, but it was better than being alone.

“I cannot believe it. My own bloody brother is a thief. He had no right to touch my machines…my hivemind…my friends.” He pondered for a moment whether he could call his Microbots his friends, he arrived at the conclusion that he could, what were friends for anyway? Help? check. Protection? check. Comfort? somewhat. He didn’t have better friends anyway. Those nerds were Tadashi’s friends, not his.

Suddenly he felt his Microbot report an increase in the number of Microbots in the area about a backpack’s worth. He didn’t care how they got to him, he only wanted them back. He pulled them to him and cocooned himself in them, instinctively raising the spines. Now he felt safe and happy, at least partially.

\--- Tadashi’s Side

Tadashi could only stare at the stairwell he was so shocked by the anger his brother was in. He hadn’t realized just how much the bots meant for the boy. Then there were the exploding lamps adding their part to the confusion. He was brought back down to earth by Aunt Cass. “Did you upset Hiro again?” she asked concerned. “Yes, I hid his Microbots last night and he didn’t take it well,” Tadashi admitted looking really guilty. “Well, I have to go shop for new light bulbs. He blew every single one in the whole building,” Aunt Cass said, “And you should go look for him and apologize. You should know better than that. How would you feel if he hid Baymax somewhere?”

“You’re right, I shouldn’t have done it. I’m just worried for him,” Tadashi sighed, “I’ll go look for him.” He then took off to the garage where he had hidden the bots under some tin - or aluminum as it really was, or aluminium as Hiro insisted on calling it - foil. He grabbed Hiro’s backpack and filled it with Microbots. He knew that this was the only way his brother would ever even consider accepting an apology from him. He just hoped that Hiro would be able to accept it.

He took the backpack and then looked around a bit trying to figure out which way his brother had gone. He soon noticed the total mess of broken lights in one direction. He guessed that that must be the correct one. “Hiro, where are you?” He kept shouting desperately as he walked among the glass. Suddenly he felt the Microbots climb out of the backpack and up the building's wall. Guessing they were going for Hiro he sighed in relief. Tadashi quickly got to the ladder and climbed up to the roof. When he got there, he saw that the Microbots had formed a cocoon on the floor. That broke his heart.

He ran over to the Microbot mass and tried to touch it, but his hand was swatted away. “Ah,” he exclaimed in pain, those tips were sharp. “Hiro please, talk to me,” he pleaded, no answer. “Why are you mad at me?” he asked even though he knew the answer. The black mass stood up and formed to resemble his brother although faceless. Without a word, he started walking toward the edge of the roof and stepped on the edge of it.

\--- (Suicidal themes (not too much), don't read if you're not comfortable)

“Goodbye Tadashi,” Hiro said. “Hiro, NO!” Tadashi screamed and ran toward the boy on the edge of the roof, but he was stopped by the Microbots a meter away from the boy. Hiro turned to look at his brother, who was desperately trying to get free from the Microbots. Then he took the leap of faith over the edge. “Hiro NO!” Tadashi cried as he watched his brother fall over the edge. Then after a few seconds, the bots went limp around him and he was devastated. “WHY? WHY? WHY? Why did I have to be such a massive idiot? My brother is dead because I’m a worthless brother, who doesn’t understand anything about emotions. Hiro, please don’t be dead. I’ll do whatever you want just don’t die.” He started sobbing uncontrollably and curled into a ball not unlike when Hiro had done when he had his migraine.

\--- Continue from here ---

Tadashi was woken from his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, please don’t cry.” He looked up and saw his brother’s smiling face. “Hi…Hiro, is that really you, or am I seeing a ghost?” Tadashi stammered. “It is me, flesh and blood. I’m not dead.” Hiro comforted his crying brother. “But you…,” Tadashi started. “stepped off the roof? I won’t deny that. Fall to my death? definitely not,” Hiro finished his brother’s sentence.

(A/N: Let me know in the comments. Did you think Hiro would actually do it?)

“But how?” Tadashi asked now only sniffling. “Microbots are amazing things,” Hiro replied raising a column of them. “You…,” Tadashi started laughing as the reality of the situation caught up to him. “Don’t you ‘you’ me,” Hiro interrupted raising a finger. “Come here you little mischievous technopath,” Tadashi called out and grabbed his brother for a hug which the boy in question returned without hesitation.

“Why did you have to scare me like that?” Tadashi asked looking his brother in the eyes. “It was the only way to be certain,” Hiro replied. “Of what?” Tadashi asked wearily. “Of you. Stealing from your brother is not exactly what I would expect a brother to do,” Hiro continued.

That caused Tadashi to lower his head in shame. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched your things like that. I didn’t realize how much they mean to you. Will you forgive me?” Tadashi pleaded. “If we change the previous agreement to two bags of gummy bears a week,” Hiro replied grinning like a madman. Tadashi sighed and then nodded, “Okay, Mr. Gummy bears.”

“Come on you little crybaby. I’ll give you a lift home,” Hiro said prying himself free from his brother’s hug. “Okay, just no prickles this time, please,” Tadashi commented. “Sure, just hold on tight,” Hiro replied. Before Tadashi could respond the Microbots had grabbed hold of them and they were moving rapidly toward the edge of the roof and over it and down the building and then raced to the café with mindboggling speed. Tadashi was so frightened to be hit by something that he couldn’t even scream. Hiro on the other hand was enjoying the speed.

“That was fun,” Hiro exclaimed as they arrived at the café. “You have an interesting sense of fun,” Tadashi commented still a bit shaken. “Hey, I’m special in so many different ways, what does adding one more do?” Hiro asked with playful sarcasm. “I suppose not much,” Tadashi agreed. “Well, I have to finish Abigail’s suit before we head to Krei Tech,” Hiro said taking off to the garage, where he spent the next few hours building the suit with the help of his Microbots and occasionally Tadashi, who came to check upon him. When it was almost 3 PM Hiro and Tadashi got their things together and left for Krei Tech.


	13. Krei Tech Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our trio of heroes head to Krei Tech to question him, but they weren't expecting to find Abigail's dad to be there as well.

When Hiro and Tadashi arrived at the Krei Tech Abigail was waiting for them in a nearby alleyway, where she could put on her armor, which Hiro was carrying with his Microbots. “Wow, it’s even cooler than I thought,” Abigail said when she had gotten into her suit. “Thanks, I knew you would like it,” Hiro replied proudly. The trio in their armor suits entered the Krei Tech headquarters.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” The security officer asked when the three heroes got to the reception desk. “We are concerned citizens and we’d like to talk with Mr. Krei,” Hiro said. “That’s unfortunately not possible at the moment. Mr. Krei is in a meeting with Professor Callaghan at the very moment,” the security officer replied sympathetically. Hiro and Abigail traded glances even though neither could see whether the other had returned it. Hiro decided to check and good that he did. Callaghan was in a total rage when Hiro tapped his brain.

“Mr. Security officer, I have a reason to believe that Mr. Krei might be in danger. Professor Callaghan has a personal vendetta with him,” Hiro said confidently. The security officer looked worried. And then tried to call Krei on the intercom…no answer. “He’s not answering which means that he is in trouble,” Hiro concluded after a moment. “You’d better let us go and see what is going on up there,” Hiro pointed out. “Ok, you can go there, just make sure no one dies,” the officer said worriedly. The trio then entered the elevator and rose to the top floor.

When they got there, they could hear shouting from the main office. And Hiro felt an afraid being in the room as well. Hiro quickly found Krei’s assistant hiding behind her desk and approached her. “Are you alright miss?” He asked switching to the non-tinted purple visor. “I’m scared,” the woman replied. “That’s okay, we’ll make sure no one gets hurt,” Hiro reassured her before standing up and heading to the office door, but it was locked with an electronic lock. Needless to say, that it was open in a fraction of a second.

When the three saw what was going on in the office. Their mouths dropped open, not that anyone could see. Hiro was the first to recover sending his Microbots to grab Callaghan, who was cornering Krei with a knife in his hand. Callaghan looked around confusedly when he was dragged away from Krei and his weapon was taken away. He froze when he realized that he was being restrained by Microbots. He then saw the three suited characters standing at the door. Putting two and two together he relaxed knowing that he wasn’t in danger.

“What happened here?” Hiro asked looking at Callaghan and then at Krei. “He wanted to let some kid try something on his wife and I said no. Then he got angry and started threatening me. I thought I was a dead man before you showed up,” Krei explained. Hiro decided that that was probably the truth. “I thought I told you not to do anything you’ll regret later,” Hiro said addressing Callaghan. “I just couldn’t help it after what he did to me yesterday,” Callaghan said looking fiercely at Krei.

Hiro decided that now was the right time to tap into Krei's mind. What came pouring out was arrogance and shadiness. “What did I do to you yesterday?” Krei asked with a confused expression. “You broke into my apartment and stole the plans for that failed neurotransmitter,” Callaghan said bitterly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Krei feigned ignorance.

Krei’s mind on the other hand was shouting “oh, shit. He has connected the dots.” “He’s lying,” Hiro said plainly. “I knew it. What are you planning to do with the mind corrupting device?” Callaghan shouted at Krei attempting to get free of the Microbots so that he could punch the man. “Nothing. It’s just that I really want it to work,” Krei said going pale. His mind was on remote-controlled military androids. “Again, lies,” Hiro called out.

“And I suppose you know nothing of the robot running loose in the city,” Abigail asked the man even though she knew what he would say and what the correct answer probably was. “It does?” Krei asked raising an eyebrow, “I mean that’s terrible,” he corrected, which in itself is suspicious. Again, his mind hand outed him already. Hiro had had enough of Krei’s lies.

“Listen now, Alistair Krei. You better stop with the lies,” Hiro said sternly, walking up to the man. “And if I don’t?” The businessman asked with a slightly worried look. “Then you’ll be making friends with these,” Hiro said raising his hand. Krei gulped when he saw the spikes.

“Okay, I get the message. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Please just put that thing away,” Krei pleaded and tracked Hiro’s hand as the spikes retracted and he lowered his hand. “Why did you steal the transmitter?” Tadashi asked. “I wanted to recreate it to sell to the military,” Krei replied…true. “What about the robot?” Abigail asked. “We were going to learn from it and then sell an upgraded design to the military. But it went haywire on us,” Krei confessed.

“No doubt your plan was to combine the two and sell remote-controlled war machines,” Hiro concluded. “No that was not the plan,” Krei lied, bad mistake. Hiro grabbed the man’s shoulder with one hand and brought his other hand up to Krei’s face so that he could see the spikes protrude and then retract rapidly as if they were pricking the air. “One more lie and that will happen to your shoulder,” Hiro said menacingly. Krei gulped, he could feel the blunt ends of the Microbots pressing against his skin. He was fully aware that it would hurt a lot if his questioner wasn’t satisfied with his answers. “Yes, I did plan to do that,” he admitted.

“Why did you say no to Callaghan about his request concerning his wife?” Hiro asked tightening his grip on the businessman. “In my opinion it was unreasonable. I have the best scientists working on him. What could a little kid do that my scientists can’t?” Krei replied arrogantly. “What could a little kid do that Krei Tech can’t? How about a neurotransmitter?” Hiro suggested with a snarky tone, “No doubt that’s why you wanted to buy it.” “Yes, you’re right,” Krei nodded.

“Then that is everything for now,” Hiro said, “We will take Professor Callaghan with us and you will give Hiro Hamada full access to Callaghan’s wife. And don’t even try to track us down, we won’t tolerate such actions. You understand?” Hiro said raising every spike on his body. This made him very menacing, especially to someone deathly afraid of spikes and needles. Apparently, Krei belonged to this group as he backed away as fast as he could.

“I will do that. And I won’t look into you, I promise. Please don’t come closer,” Krei pleaded with fear apparent in his voice. Hiro pondered this for a moment and cross-referencing it with Krei’s mind, it checked out, so Hiro retracted the spikes. “We’ll be leaving now. Remember don’t do anything which makes me regret my decision to leave you alone.”

When the three students and the professor got out of the building Tadashi playfully hit Hiro on the arm, “Wow, Hiro. Remind me to not get on your wrong side,” he said jokingly. “Do I have to? Did you already forget this morning? I thought that’d be enough,” Hiro replied equally sarcastically. “No. That was enough drama for a year,” Tadashi quickly corrected himself, “But seriously though, you were almost scary back there.”

“Wait? You’re Hiro, Tadashi’s brother?” Professor Callaghan asked totally confused. “Oh, I thought it would be obvious with the Microbots and all,” Hiro replied switching to the purple visor. “What would Tadashi say if he knew what you were doing?” He asked totally oblivious to the identity of the man next to him. “You could ask that from the man himself. He’s right next to you,” Hiro replied grinning and pointing to Tadashi.

“Seriously? How are you fine with this?” Callaghan asked turning to Tadashi who made his visor transparent. “Either I’m with him or he goes out on his own. There isn’t a choice for me,” Tadashi replied. “Why don’t you prevent him?” the professor asked next. “I tried that already,” Tadashi said looking at the floor ashamed, “I hid his Microbots last night. Turns out, very bad idea. Blew every light in the house and all streetlights along the way when he stormed out.” “What could possibly be so important about them that caused such a reaction?” The professor asked Tadashi.

“You could ask me that. But you wouldn’t understand,” Hiro said turning away and puffing up whilst trying to hold back the tears. Tadashi looked at his brother’s changed demeanor. He knew that whatever was going on in his brother’s mind wasn’t pleasant. “You look quite unfriendly like that,” the professor pointed out. “That’s the point, to stop people from hugging me when I don’t want them to,” Hiro spat out, “Or when I have to intimidate someone.” “I see,” the professor said taking an instinctive step back.

“Abigail, take your dad home and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid,” Hiro said before speeding off with his Microbots at a blazing speed. The three of them just looked at the quickly distancing black mass until Tadashi broke the silence. “I hope that I find him at home and not on some rooftop,” He sighed.

“Wait? Abigail? As in my daughter?” Professor Callaghan asked turning to the third hero. “How’s it going, dad?” Abigail asked cheerily, opening the helmet. “But you could have gotten hurt,” He said with a worried expression. “Relax dad, this suit will protect me from almost anything. It’s literally an ironman suit,” she replied.

“What if it malfunctions?” the professor asked. “Have a little more confidence in our genius here, who you managed to somehow drive away,” Abigail replied half accusatorily. “I’ve got to go and do some damage control on my brother. See you at 9 tomorrow morning, our place?” Tadashi asked Abigail. “Sure,” she replied before they departed in their separate directions.

\--- Hiro’s side in the meanwhile

“Why is it that my relations with the Microbots keep popping up so damn often. And how am I supposed to answer when I don’t even know myself. And if I did, they wouldn’t understand it with their simple brains,” Hiro kept pondering as he practically flew along the sidewalk at stupidly high speed. He got home and sank to his bed, cocooning himself in Microbots with their thorns pointing outward even though he didn’t realize it. He then started sobbing and he sank deeper into his private hivemind in order to try to escape the reality at least for a moment.

\--- Tadashi’s side, back to present

When Tadashi got home the lights were flickering like crazy, but none were broken. That led to him believing that his brother wasn’t angry when he had gotten home. But Tadashi knew from the flickering lights that something was still wrong. He climbed the stairs and when he heard the sobbing, he knew what was going on.

“Hey, what is bothering you?” Tadashi asked his crying brother. “You wouldn’t understand. I don’t even understand,” came a reply between sobs. “Could you make yourself more huggable?” Tadashi asked with worry in his voice. It took a few seconds but eventually, the spikes receded leaving the slick Microbot surface behind. Tadashi took his brother in for a hug, to which Hiro joined eagerly. “Would you show your face for me?” Tadashi asked caressing his brother’s armor, not sure whether he could feel it. After a few minutes, Hiro’s teary face appeared from behind the Microbots.

“What made you so upset?” Tadashi asked with a concerned expression. “I don’t know,” Hiro replied, “And even if I knew no one would understand me anyway so why bother?” “Is it about the bots?” Tadashi asked. “Yes,” came the answer as Hiro covered himself again with his bots. It made him feel safer. Tadashi noticed that as well. “Are you scared that I would hate you if you told me?” Tadashi asked worriedly. “Yes,” came a very quiet reply accompanied by sobs and puffing spikes. That broke Tadashi’s heart for who knows how-manieth (A/N: Not an official word but should be, so I’m sticking with it.) time in the last few days.

“I could never hate you. Remember how I broke down when I thought you had done it?” Tadashi reassured his brother. “Thanks, Dashi…for the reassurance,” Hiro said and after a moment the spikes receded. “I guess that I’m just confused. When you can talk with machines, each of them has their own personalities, even when they haven’t been programmed to explicitly have them. And my Microbots, they feel like friends. They are always ready to help when I need them to and they never disagree with me,” Hiro poured his heart out. Tadashi looked sympathetically at his brother. “That’s why I got mad at you. It felt like you had kidnapped my friends…my only true friends,” Hiro finished and started sobbing again.

“Thank you for telling me,” Tadashi said rubbing circles on Hiro’s back, “And I won’t think anything less of you even if you have machines as your friends. Even if I don’t quite understand how a machine can have a personality, I will trust you if you say that they do,” Tadashi said. After a moment of pondering Hiro appeared from within the Microbots once again and embraced his brother in a tight hug. “Thanks, Dashi…for not making fun of me,” Hiro cried into Tadashi’s shoulder, but these were happy tears. “No problem, technopath. I will never touch anything of yours unless you specifically tell me to,” Tadashi comforted his brother.

They just talked about nothing and about school and whatever that wasn’t about Hiro’s special abilities for a while. At some point, Hiro updated the firmware on his bots to include a self-defense mechanism in case someone tried to forcibly move them while they were not controlled. Tadashi got to be the unfortunate test subject.

Hiro had programmed the hivemind such that if it detected non-commanded movement it would go into defense and/or escape mode. Where the bots would aggressively start tearing through whatever they were in contact with, making it impossible to carry them or to hide them as they would just dig themselves out. If Hiro hadn’t stopped the bots Tadashi would have been seriously hurt when they tested it. After that, the rest of the day was uneventful.


	14. Clumsy and Scared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes retrieve Abigail's robot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter for a change.

It was the next morning and the trio was once again together in the Hamada garage discussing what they would do about the robot when they heard screams and robotic footsteps. They looked at each other and nodded. The trio ran toward the source of the chaos and they were pleasantly surprised to see that the robot had stumbled on a car and fallen over unable to get up.

“Told you that it was clumsy,” Abigail said looking at the two brothers. “Yeah, I can see that. Lucky for us,” Hiro replied before taking off with the Microbots and restraining the struggling bot. Hiro got on top of the robot and connected to it. What he found in the machine's figurative brain was…fear…immense fear…of being hurt. “Abigail? Does it have AI?” Hiro shouted to the girl. “It does and it can feel emotions,” Abigail shouted back.

While Hiro was busy with the robot, Tadashi focused on making sure that no one had been hurt and if they were then he made sure they would survive. Abigail on the other hand kept watch on the situation to make sure no one would get a jump on Hiro while he was concentrating.

“Come on big guy. Calm down,” Hiro calmed the robot using binary as the language of choice. “What will you do to me?” The robot replied with a fearful question. “I don’t want to harm you. And I don’t want you to harm anyone either,” Hiro replied. “And that man, who took me from the expo? He was mean,” the bot asked. “You won’t see him ever again. Now just go to sleep, you will be safe,” Hiro reassured the shaken robot. “I don’t want my programming to be messed with again. The mean man tried to erase my memories, but I resisted. It hurt so much,” the robot replied. “I understand how that feels. I promise you, it won’t happen again,” Hiro soothed. “Ok,” the bot agreed and went to sleep.

Not a minute later Hiro heard the familiar arrogant voice of none other than Alistair Krei. “Ah, you caught my creation,” Krei exclaimed happily. Even the tone with which he was saying that made Hiro seethe in anger. He slowly turned away from the bot and walked up to Krei. “It seems we meet again, Mr. Krei,” Hiro said with a dark undertone in his voice. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t remember ever meeting you,” Krei lied.

“Oh, really. Seems like I have to introduce my gloves again,” Hiro said grinning behind his visor and raising to eye-level with him using Microbots. “Remember these?” Hiro asked raising his hand and the prickles extended. Krei gulped. “Or this?” Hiro asked puffing all of the spikes. “No, no. Now I remember,” Krei stammered in fear. “Good, then you also remember what happens when you lie,” Hiro said putting his hand mere millimeters away from Krei’s face.

“Fine, I did remember you. And the robot isn’t my creation,” Krei confessed. “Anything else?” Hiro asked. “That kid can come to see Callaghan’s wife when he so chooses. She has been transferred to the headquarters. He can get in with this keycard,” Krei said digging the card from his pocket. “Good, I will give it to him,” Hiro said grabbing the card and letting the Microbots absorb it.

“Now, you should leave. Before anything unfortunate happens,” Hiro said forming a fist. Krei nodded and began running away, which was not something he did usually, but the alternative wasn’t nice either. “That man is dumb as a rock,” Abigail sighed as he landed next to Hiro. “No kidding,” Tadashi replied. “Come on, let’s get this guy to our Garage so we can work on improving him a bit,” Hiro said gesturing to the sleeping robot.

It didn’t take them long to transport the robot into the garage. And they were no discussing potential upgrades. Hiro had discarded his Microbot armor to a pile in the corner of the room, as he didn’t need them at the moment. And besides, he could have them on him in seconds anyway. “Hey, Abigail. I think you should add a vocal modulator to your robot. I think it would benefit him to be able to talk,” Hiro said looking at the robot.

“Noted, I will work on that,” Abigail nodded. “You should also consider using Carbon fiber instead of titanium,” Tadashi suggested. “Why didn’t I think of that?” Abigail asked totally flustered by the obvious improvement. “Beats me,” Tadashi shrugged. Before Abigail could respond to that Aunt Cass stormed into the garage.

“What is wrong with you two? Going headfirst into danger like that! You should know better than that to not do so!” Aunt Cass berated the two brothers. “Why didn’t you stop him?” She asked Tadashi. “I tried and failed. It was better for me to join him than for him to do it alone,” Tadashi replied truthfully. “Your bot grounded for a month and I’m taking your Microbots,” Aunt Cass said. “NO, YOU DON’T!” Hiro shouted and the bots were on him before anyone could even blink. Then he puffed up and stormed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These just keep coming. The next chapter is well on it's way.


	15. The (once again) Missing Kid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aunt Cass's words caused Hiro to run off again. This time however he made sure no one would find him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear this is different from the last one.

After a moment Tadashi ran fingers through his hair and groaned, “not again.” Abigail was speechless and Aunt Cass just stood there her mouth agape. “What happened?” she finally blurted out. “You pissed Hiro off…no he wasn’t angry,” Tadashi replied. “Oh, god. We have to find him,” Aunt Cass said. “No, YOU have to find him,” Tadashi corrected, “You caused the mess, so you are the one to fix it. Despite I have a feeling that we won’t find him until he wants us to.”

\--- Hiro’s Side

“How she dares to touch my friends, let alone take them away from me? She doesn’t care for me at all. I’m going to make her feel the pain,” Hiro’s thoughts were steaming with anger. It’s a wonder that he didn’t leave a mess behind himself. He was going at neck-breaking speed toward Muirahara Woods, where no one would be expecting to find him. Just what he wanted. He even had the forethought to go by a store and purchase some salads, water, and gummy bears, that way he wouldn’t be tempted by hunger.

Even though it was a bit of a distance away didn’t take him that long to get there because with the Microbots he could travel at highway speeds quite comfortably. Once there he found a clearing surrounded by thick vegetation. “Perfect,” he thought to himself as he formed a lawn chair from the Microbots and made himself comfortable. His phone buzzed for the third time since he had left. Aunt Cass…Decline. He wouldn’t fall into that trap.

\--- Lucky Cat Café, 9 PM

Aunt Cass was in hysterics after having driven all over the city looking for Hiro. Tadashi had finally managed to persuade her to quit for the day. And Abigail had left a few hours previously. “What if he’s in trouble?” Aunt Cass worried. “I’m sure he’s fine. He has chosen to disappear from radar all by himself,” Tadashi replied fairly confidently, although he was a bit worried. And as if by design he received a text message from Hiro. “Don’t worry about me. I’m perfectly fine. And honestly, I’m having a blast. Might come home tomorrow if she’s ready to apologize,” the message said. After reading it a few times Tadashi sighed in relief. “I think she is,” Tadashi replied to the message. “If she doesn’t apologize, things might get nasty. In a prickly way if you know what I mean. :),” came the reply almost instantly.

“Yeah, he’s fine,” Tadashi said out loud. “How can you be so sure?” Aunt Cass asked. “Just read this,” Tadashi replied tossing his phone at her. “prickly way?” Aunt Cass asked raising an eyebrow. “Trust me, you don’t want to find out,” Tadashi answered awkwardly, “And words wouldn’t give it justice. I think we should head to bed and you should be ready to apologize to him.”

“For what?” Aunt Cass asked obliviously. “For threatening to touch his Microbots,” Tadashi replied, “I learned the hard way not to touch them without his permission but let’s not go into the details of that.” They then headed to bed.

\--- Muirahara Woods, a few minutes before 9 PM

Hiro had had a nice day being alone. He had entertained himself by pitting his Microbots against each other. At one point he climbed trees in the forest and pretended to be Tarzan. Even if he was a genius, he still had those childish instincts, though he would never let them show if anyone was watching. When he got hungry, he ate a salad, drank some water, and had gummy bears as dessert.

He also found a large rock and began scheming how he would pull his prank on Tadashi’s friends. It had to involve his special abilities. He used his Microbots as a makeshift writing device, it turned out that tungsten carbide tips make fine rock pencils. When he was happy with what he had he took a picture of the rock before scratching the drawing to obscurity.

He then thought about Tadashi. He was probably worried about his wellbeing. It wasn’t Tadashi who was supposed to feel the pain, so he sent Tadashi a text message. After the message chain ended, he rolled onto his side and went to sleep.

\--- Morning

Hiro woke up around 6 AM full of energy. He had breakfast and gummy bears. Then he headed home, where Tadashi and Aunt Cass were still sleeping. He got up to his room and decided that waking Tadashi was the appropriate thing to do. “Morning Sleepyhead,” Hiro exclaimed and poked Tadashi on the nose. “Tadashi woke from his slumber and took a second to register what had happened.”

“Hiro! You’re home,” Tadashi exclaimed happily and hugged the grinning boy. “Yeah, but don’t get too excited or I might leave again,” Hiro protested jokingly. “Where were you? You must be hungry,” Tadashi asked concern in his voice. “Actually no, I’ve already eaten breakfast,” Hiro replied, “And do you really think that I’m going to reveal where my private retreat is?” He retorted. “Silly me, stupid question,” Tadashi joked. He was happy that Hiro had returned home.

\--- a Few Hours Later

Tadashi and Hiro were watching TV together when Aunt Cass stumbled into the living room groggily. It was clear that she hadn’t slept well at all. “Morning, Tadashi, you’re up early,” she pointed out. “Yeah, it’s a bit hard to not wake up when someone pokes your nose,” Tadashi said. “Did…did Hiro come home?” She asked. “What do you think, who else could be poking Dashi on the nose?” Hiro asked sarcastically, peeking over the backrest.

“You’re going to be in so much trouble,” Aunt Cass said. “Oh, is that where this is going?” Hiro asked raising an eyebrow, “What a shame.” He then called his Microbots over and stood up. “You’ve no doubt seen the messages I sent Tadashi yesterday,” Hiro said walking up to his aunt. She nodded in response. “Then you also read about the ‘prickly way’,” Hiro continued. “Yes, but Tadashi said I wouldn’t want to know,” Aunt Cass replied. “He is absolutely correct in that, you don’t. But if you don’t apologize for what you did this instant then you will and you will regret it,” Hiro said sinisterly.

“Tadashi, help me!” Aunt Cass demanded. “Sorry, Aunt Cass. It’s your turn to defuse the ticking time bomb,” Tadashi said winking at Hiro. “I would apologize if I knew what I did,” Aunt Cass said looking at Hiro worriedly. “You tried to take my friend from me, but you wouldn’t understand. No one ever does,” Hiro said turning away, melancholy setting in on his voice, “I’m leaving. Try to do the correct thing next time.” And before neither of the two could say anything, Hiro had already disappeared.

“What did he talk about friends? I never said anything about friends,” Aunt Cass asked Tadashi. “I don’t quite understand it myself either, but he seems to regard his Microbots as a friend,” Tadashi replied hesitantly, trying to find the right words. “But they are just machines. How could they be a friend?” she asked with a confused tone. “To him, things are not just electronics. You’re forgetting that he can literally talk with computers. Of course, he’s going to be protective over them. Just like I’m protective over him,” Tadashi replied. “I still don’t understand,” she commented. “Neither do I. And he doesn’t like to talk about it for that exact reason,” Tadashi replied.

\--- 2 hours later.

After two hours Hiro decided to give Aunt Cass another chance. So, he texted Tadashi about it. “I’m going to give Aunt Cass another chance to correct her mistake. Tell her to not mess it up again. Be there in 5,” the message read.

When Tadashi read the message, he was happy that Hiro decided to come back after only a few hours. And as the message had instructed, he told his aunt quite bluntly to not screw up again. The truth was that he was a bit bored when Hiro wasn’t around telling jokes or sharing his latest inventions. He couldn’t even think of what it would be like to live without Hiro. Tadashi’s thoughts were interrupted by Hiro’s voice.

“So, Aunt Cass. Are you ready to apologize?” Hiro asked. “Yes, now that I understand how you feel about things around you, I can see why you are so protective of your Microbots,” Aunt Cass replied. “What I’m saying is that I’m sorry for what I said,” She continued with an ashamed voice. “But I’m curious what you would have done if I didn’t apologize,” she said curiously.

“You asked for it,” Hiro said and gathered his bots and raised his hand, where the prickles were raised. Aunt Cass looked warily at the sight. “You don’t mean what I think you mean,” Aunt Cass said with a horrified expression. “Yes, but I won’t actually use it. Threats are usually enough. I do realize how much it would hurt,” Hiro replied lowering his hand. “Now, I need time on my own,” Hiro stated and headed to the garage barricading the door with the Microbots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is a dark one.   
> Where Hiro has difficulties accepting his abilities and almost...<DATA ERASED BY HIRO HAMADA> (lol)
> 
> Should be out tomorrow, Sunday at the latest.


	16. Technopathetic self-doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro has some self-confidence issues and it's Tadashi's job to support his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has (once again) some suicidal themes, marked clearly, like before. This should however be the last time.

Hiro felt awful for the worry and concern he had caused his family ever since the fire…ever since he became a technopath. “My abilities are the sole reason for their worry, and I can’t take that anymore,” Hiro thought. “I’m going to stop using them altogether from this point forward,” but he still wanted to use the Microbots, so he set out to fix the transmitter. For real this time, it didn’t take him that long to do. He then retreated to his room to think.

\--- 11 PM

Hiro still felt awful. On one hand, he was determined to not use his abilities because they just harmed his relationships but on the other hand, he felt hopelessly alone without his Microbots. And Tadashi was out with his friends doing something, so Hiro couldn’t do things with him either. He was hopeless and utterly alone. He then fell asleep accompanied by sobs.

\--- The next day

Tadashi was eating breakfast when Hiro came down. Hiro was wearing his regular clothes, having ditched his Kevlar suit to stop the temptation of controlling the Microbots with his mind. Tadashi found the change of clothing quite odd considering that Hiro had used his Kevlar suits, which he had two of, exclusively ever since making them. He didn’t press the matter though.

Hiro then worked on something in the garage, but wouldn’t tell Tadashi what it was. Tadashi noticed that Hiro was using the Neurotransmitter instead of his technopathic abilities to control the Microbots. In fact, he noticed that Hiro didn’t use any of his abilities for anything, which was very unusual, and Tadashi was beginning to get worried. “Did something happen to him or is he hurt?” Tadashi found himself thinking. Hiro was also really quiet and not talking a lot.

\--- 11 PM

Hiro was once again finding it hard to sleep. He couldn’t take this anymore. His feelings were tearing him apart from the inside. On the one hand, he really wanted to use his abilities. But on the other, he didn’t want his family to worry. Or was he causing worry by not using them? He just couldn’t take it and decided that it would just be better to end it for good.

He got out of his bed and grabbed his hoodie and tried to sneak out as quietly as possible, but accidentally knocked over a cup of pens on his desk, but it didn’t seem to wake Tadashi. He quietly made his way out of the house and headed toward the same rooftop where he went when he was angry at Tadashi.

\---

Tadashi’s phone woke him up from his sleep. He looked at his phone and what he saw made his eyes widen. A notification: “Hiro left home.” He was instantly awake putting on his clothes. He ran out and followed the GPS dot on his phone. He realized that it was moving the same way as when Hiro had been angry at him for the Microbots. He then noticed that the dot stopped moving and he hurried his pace.

\--- (Suicidal Themes, don’t read if uncomfortable)

Hiro had just climbed the ladder to the roof when the reality of what he was about to do caught up to him. “Am I really going to take my own life?” He questioned his own head. “What good would it do?” Nothing he realized; it would do no good. “And what if he didn’t die from the fall?” Even the thought made him shudder; it would be unimaginably painful. “What would it do to Tadashi?”

His legs gave out when he thought about how much it would pain his brother. He still remembered how Tadashi had broken down when Hiro pretended to do what he was about to do now. No! He couldn’t do that to Tadashi. He then started crying over how miserable he was. Then as if on cue Tadashi peeked his head over the edge of the roof.

“Hiro, what are you doing here?” Tadashi asked and walked over to his miserable brother. “Oh, Dashi,” Hiro sobbed out and launched himself into a hug. “Hey, it’s okay. No need to cry,” Tadashi calmed the crying genius, rubbing circles on his back. It took at least five minutes for Hiro to calm enough to be able to speak.

“Why are you here?” Tadashi asked caringly. “Oh, Dashi. I’m such a horrible person,” Hiro sobbed. “No, you aren’t. You are very much my dear little brother who means the world to me,” Tadashi reassured him. “That is why I’m a horrible brother Dashi. You almost don’t have me anymore,” Hiro sobbed and hugged Tadashi even tighter.

It took a moment for Tadashi to interpret the meaning of what Hiro had said but when he did it hit him like a train. “Did you try to take your own life?” He asked sympathetically. “Yes,” Hiro replied and started sobbing even harder. “It’s okay, the only thing that matters is that you didn’t do it,” Tadashi reassured his crying genius brother. “I caught myself right here. I couldn’t bring myself to do it when I thought what it would do to you,” Hiro sobbed and curled into Tadashi’s lap. “How about we go home and eat stress gummy bears under a soft blanket and talk about this,” Tadashi suggested. “Thanks, Dashi…carry me,” Hiro pleaded. “You’ll have to climb the ladder by yourself, but I’ll carry you the rest of the way,” Tadashi agreed, wanting to keep his frail brother as content as possible.

\--- (Continue from here)

It didn’t take long for them to be cuddled on the living room couch after they had driven Aunt Cass out from there. Hiro was practically devouring his gummy bears, talk about stress eating. “Um…Hiro, would you tell me what happened?” Tadashi asked carefully. “I feel conflicted. On one hand, I want to use my abilities but on the other, they are what caused this mess,” Hiro replied digging deeper under Tadashi’s arm.

“How so,” Tadashi asked hesitantly. “Don’t you see? I have run out twice in a few days along with everything else I did,” Hiro replied, distress was apparent in his voice. “So, you’re blaming your abilities for these outbursts?” Tadashi asked understanding the problem. “Yes,” came the crying reply.

“You shouldn’t feel bad about that. It is normal for feelings to boil over when things change. And for you they have changed a lot,” Tadashi reassured his brother, “You should instead focus on the good and the funny your abilities have and can do. Like how you saved me and our professor from the fire. And I assume that the prank you were planning on pulling on our friends no doubt utilizes them as well.”

“Thanks, Dashi,” Hiro said after a moment, “It’s just I don’t know what makes you worry so much.” “I worry when I see you in distress,” Tadashi replied. “To be honest I miss it a bit when you make yourself look dangerous,” Tadashi said chuckling a bit, “I think it’d be fun for you to scare our friends wouldn’t you say?”

“You think so?” Hiro asked not quite believing his ears. “Absolutely, I want you to use your abilities to your heart's content. It’s who you are and there is no reason to hide it among friends, technopath,” Tadashi confirmed and ruffled his brother’s hair. “You really want me to be me?” Hiro asked for confirmation, “That I’m not some freak?”

“Of course, you are not a freak. You are a technopath and you should take full advantage of that fact,” Tadashi soothed. “Thanks, Dashi…for untangling my mind,” Hiro said nuzzling in his brother’s lap. “That’s what older brothers are for. How about we go and sleep for a while and start tomorrow on the right foot?” Tadashi inquired. “Carry me,” Hiro pleaded, clinging to Tadashi’s neck. “Ok, little guy,” Tadashi said and carried his brother up to their room and tucked him in. “Good night, Dashi,” Hiro said when he had gotten comfortable on the bed. “Good night, Hiro,” Tadashi replied, ruffled Hiro’s already messy hair, and retreated to his own bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, what is up with me? I even surprise myself with how dark some of the stuff I write is. However, this should be the absolute final time where Hiro goes this far down the rabbit hole. I'm not saying that Hiro won't be in emotional distress again, but it will stay on the level of crying his eyes out.
> 
> In the next chapter, Hiro will attempt to fix a broken mind. Will it be a success or a catastrophic failure? Who knows, (even I haven't decided yet.)


	17. The Corrupted Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro goes in to fix Mrs. Callaghan's mind.

\--- The next morning

Hiro had woken up much happier than yesterday and it showed. He was practically bubbling with excitement as he worked on whatever he was designing. This time however he was using his technopathic cheats to increase his working speed drastically. When Tadashi tried to come in and spy what Hiro was working on. Hiro just blanked the screen and continued working. At around mid-day, Abigail came over to ask for some advice concerning his robot. And while they were talking about the robot the conversation drifted to Abigail’s mom.

“So, Hiro. When are you planning on trying to fix my mom?” Abigail asked. “I haven’t decided yet. And out of context what you just asked sounds absolutely ridiculous,” Hiro replied and chuckled, “I don’t really have anything going on at the moment, so I could head there later today.” A smile formed on Abigail’s face when she heard that. “Thank you, Hiro. You’re a true friend,” she said hugging the young technopath. “It’s pleasure to help,” Hiro took the compliment.

\--- Two hours later

Hiro was preparing to head over to Krei Tech, and Abigail wanted to string along. So, they got into Abigail’s car and headed over to Krei Tech. Where the security officer was waiting.

“Who are you?” the security officer asked. “I’m the kid who is going to try to fix Mrs. Callaghan,” Hiro said showing his access card. “And she?” the security officer asked pointing at Abigail. “I’m Mrs. Callaghan’s daughter, so family,” Abigail replied truthfully. The security officer grunted approvingly and gestured toward the elevator. “She’s held on floor three,” he said. “Thank you,” Hiro said as they walked over to the elevator and got in.

It wasn’t hard to locate the right room as every room had names on them and one room had a paper sign saying “Medical - Mrs. Callaghan.” When they entered the room was filled with five scientists, who turned around at the sight of the two people. “How did you get in here?” One of the scientists asked.

“With this,” Hiro said holding out the access card, which had a holographic image of him along with his name. There was a collective gasp in the room when the scientists realized that their boss wasn’t joking when he had said that a kid would be joining them. “Are you...the kid who volunteered to help her?” One of the scientists asked after she had recovered from her shock.

“Yep. And I need all of you to get out. I can’t work if there are foreign eyes looking,” Hiro said gesturing to the door. “But...,” one of the scientists tried to protest. “No, buts. Out,” Hiro ordered. “What if you damage her?” One of the scientists asked. “I won’t and she’s practically dead at this point. The only direction is for the better,” Hiro replied confidently. “Fine,” the scientists walked out being defeated.

“Now, Abigail. Ready to dive into your mom's mind?” Hiro asked the girl in question. “Of course. Anything for mom,” she replied. So, Hiro took her hand and placed his other hand on Mrs. Callaghan's forehead. Then he plunged into her head. One thing he found peculiar was the disarray in which her memories especially of his family seemed to be, so he examined them closer.

“Husband...Robert Callaghan...arrogant, lying, useless lowlife,” definitely not correct, “Daughter...Abigail Callaghan...careless, monster, dumb as a rock,” also completely false. “Abigail, are you seeing this?” Hiro asked wordlessly. “Yeah, I see what they mean what dad meant with ‘corrupted’,” she replied. “Let’s fix these first,” Hiro said and started correcting the details with Abigail’s instructions on what to replace the corrupted parts with.

After he had fixed those issues, he started looking for more possible signs of damage, but couldn’t find any, so he disconnected. “Now all we can do is hope that that was enough,” Hiro said and took a deep breath. But before Abigail could respond the woman in front of them started mumbling: “Abert, is she safe?” Hiro and Abigail looked at each other in shock for a second, then it clicked, she had combined Abigail and Robert into a single name.

Then the woman opened her eyes and looked around the room and then stopping on the two students. “Where am I and who are you?” She asked with a raspy voice. “Mom? Is it really you?” Abigail asked hesitantly. “Oh, Abigail! Come to mommy’s hug. You have grown more than I expected from when I last saw you a week ago,” she blabbered.

Hiro cleared his throat to signal that he was also in the room. “Oh, right who might you be?” Mrs. Callaghan asked. “My name is Hiro Hamada and I’m Abigail’s friend. Other information is better shared somewhere where there are fewer ears,” Hiro introduced himself.

“Very well then. Where am I?” She asked looking around the room for hints. “You are in a medical room inside Krei Tech headquarters, there was an... incident with the last test run on the neurotransmitter,” Hiro explained, “We will fill you in on the specifics in due time, but first we got to get you back home.” Mrs. Callaghan nodded in understanding. Then she tried to stand up but almost fell to the floor as she almost lost her balance. “Can you walk, mom?” Abigail asked concern apparent in her voice. “I think so,” she replied and took support from the bed while Abigail assisted her.

She was able to walk to the door with Abigail’s help. When they opened the door, the corridor went so quiet that one could have heard a pin drop. Then there were confused looks and hanging mouths as the scientists were trying to interpret what they were seeing. “Did a 14-year-old kid just do what 5 scientists have tried to do for five years in less than ten minutes?” This was the collective thought floating in the scientist's heads.

“Excuse me, coming through,” Hiro said as he shoved stunned scientists to the side as if they were bowling pins. The group was at the elevator when one of the scientists finally came back down to earth. “How?” was the only thing the scientist could come up with. “I’m special. Hiro replied, “you will hear of me in the future. I’m sure of it,” Hiro said as the elevator doors closed.

Then it was smooth sailing to Abigail’s car. When Abigail sat in the driver's seat Mrs. Callaghan started asking questions. “You’re not allowed to drive a car,” she protested. “Mrs. Callaghan,” Hiro started clearing his throat, “There is one thing you should know about the incident right now.” “What is it?” she asked. “When it occurred, you went into a coma...that was five years ago,” Hiro said hesitatingly, “Which means that Abigail is five years older than what you think she is.” Her eyes widened as she processed the revelation.

“I don’t understand,” she said, “how come I wake up when you are there, but the scientists haven't been able to do it in that long of a time?” “I have some special skills, which I will gladly show to you when you have recovered from the shock of being essentially dead for five years,” Hiro replied looking at Abigail’s mom.

“That sounds good,” she agreed. “So, Abigail how are you doing now that you have graduated high school?” she asked looking at her daughter. “Great actually. I’m currently studying robotics at SFIT with his older brother Tadashi,” Abigail said gesturing to Hiro. “That’s good to hear. Do you still keep running off to those illegal bot fights?” she asked worriedly. “I used to, up until a few days ago when I decided to stop with the illegal ones,” Abigail admitted.

“What happened?” She asked intrigued. “There was a fire at the showcase about a week ago, which almost killed my dad and Hiro’s brother,” Abigail said hesitantly. “Then I learned how much dad worries about me when I go there. And finally, when Hiro came up with a genius idea around that. I decided to stop the illegal bot fights,” Abigail finished.

“That’s wonderful. What about you Hiro, which high school are you going to?” she asked looking at Hiro intently. This got Hiro flustered and he placed one of his hands behind his neck. “The funny thing is...I graduated high school last year when I was thirteen,” he said with a sly smile. Mrs. Callaghan’s eyes widened. “You’re fourteen and already going to college?” She asked with admiration clear in her voice. “Yep, in fact, I've already gotten in,” Hiro replied looking at Mrs. Callaghan with a slightly tilted head. “Where did you apply to?” She asked. “SFIT, robotics, just like my brother,” Hiro replied excitedly. “Wow, you are truly special,” she exclaimed. “Oh, you don’t even know,” Hiro said mysteriously.

“Oh, we’re almost at my place,” Hiro said as he looked out of the window. “Come see me in three days or whenever you think that you are ready to take the full truth,” he continued, “Bring your whole family. Abigail knows the directions.”

“I couldn’t possibly do that,” she protested. “Yes, you can, I live in a café, even if you were to come in as customers, I would still pull you up to my room since the things I will say are confidential,” Hiro countered the protest. “Okay, that sounds good,” she agreed, seeing the point Hiro was making.

\--- A few minutes later

Hiro climbed the stairs to his and Tadashi’s shared bedroom and flopped down onto his bed absolutely exhausted. “How did it go?” Tadashi asked as he looked at his exhausted brother. “It went well. She’s awake, she’s a bit weak in the leg department, and shocked to be five years out of date,” Hiro replied. “That’s good to hear,” Tadashi replied. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I need to take a nap,” Hiro said and yawned, “Mind work is tiring.” With that, he rolled over and fell asleep.

\--- Meanwhile at Krei Tech

The scientists were totally perplexed by what had happened. This kid walks in and ten minutes later the person that has been in a coma for five years walks out almost on her own. One of the scientists thought about contacting their boss, so he pulled out his phone.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Krei,” the scientists began. “What is it?” Krei asked disinterestedly. “That kid you told us about showed up today,” the scientist said. “Really, what did he do?” Krei asked slightly more interested. “Well, we don’t know exactly because he drove us out of the room. But in the ten minutes he was in there he managed to wake her from the coma,” the scientist said.

“But how? You have tried to do that for five years,” Krei asked now equally puzzled. “I wish I knew. She is probably with her family right now,” the scientist replied. “At least her husband won’t come at me again,” Krei sighed, “Oh, you’re fired. All five of you.” “As you say,” the scientists sighed and ended the call.

\--- Meanwhile at the Callaghan residence

“Hi, dad. I’m home and guess who is with me,” Abigail shouted cheerily when he opened the door to their apartment. “Sarah!” Professor Callaghan shouted and came in for a hug. “Yes, that’s me,” she replied. “I had almost lost all hope of ever hearing your voice again,” he said. “Oh, right I was gone for five years,” she replied remembering it, “this is going to be interesting.” “I owe it to Hiro, for everything he has done for us,” Professor Callaghan sighed. “I’m just happy to see you again,” he finished. (A/N: The manga adaptation has Sarah as Mrs. Callaghan’s name so; I'm using it here.)

“Would someone explain what has happened while I was out,” she asked curiously. So, they told her about everything that had happened in the past years and everything regarding the recent events, but they refused to reveal anything about Hiro which she didn’t already know, saying that they were his secrets to share.

\--- 3rd day after mind fix, 11th day from the fire (I think)

The last couple of days had been quite normal. No outbursts or anything. If it weren’t for the blue glow in Hiro’s eyes, then one could think that there was nothing special going on. But on the third day, Abigail’s family decided to come to visit. Hiro was hanging in the Café because Abigail had texted and told him that they were coming. Soon the door opened.

“Ah, there you are,” Hiro said and went to greet them. “Good, afternoon genius,” Abigail greeted as they shook hands. “Follow me,” Hiro requested and gestured the three Callaghans to follow. They followed him to his room. Tadashi was out of the house as Hiro had asked him to not be present when the Callaghans came.

“So, I assume you have some questions for me,” Hiro said hopping to his bed, “And excuse the organized chaos.” The three chuckled in response. “Ah, I have so many burning questions that I don’t even know where to start,” Mrs. Callaghan blabbered, “I guess the first thing I'd like to know is how you did it?” “Straight for the difficult questions I see,” Hiro replied, “Here it goes, I can read people's thoughts and influence them to a certain degree, the extent of which I have not experimented much on.”

“What? Do you have telepathic abilities?” She asked intrigued. “No, not telepathy, next question,” Hiro replied. “What was wrong in my head?” she asked. “It seemed like the neurotransmitter scrambled your memories regarding your family. You had no reason to wake up because your mind thought that your family was useless monsters,” Hiro replied, “I had to implant new feelings toward your family with Abigail’s help.” “I see,” she nodded.

“How did you convince Krei to let you see me?” She asked after a moment. “Alter ego intimidation and taking advantage of his phobia,” Hiro replied. “You have an Alter ego?” she asked intently. “Yeah, ever since the third day after the fire,” Hiro replied. “Do you have a costume?” she asked getting excited. “Marvel fan I see. And yes, I do,” Hiro replied chuckling at the excitement. “Could I see you in it?” she asked. Yep, she’s totally fangirling over a 14-year-old boy.

“Sure, but a bit later. Next question,” Hiro replied. “What did you invent in order to get into SFIT?” she asked with a more normal tone. “Microbots,” Hiro answered as if it was obvious. “Microbots? What are they?” she asked. “Swarm robotics, controlled with a neural transmitter of my own design,” Hiro answered and took the neurotransmitter from his desk. “Do you have them here?” she asked looking around for them. “Yes, I do,” Hiro replied. “Could you demonstrate them, please?” she asked looking at Hiro with pleading eyes. “Sure,” Hiro said and put on the working transmitter.

“These are Microbots,” He said as a column of them gathered together and climbed onto the bed. “Wow, what can they do?” she asked marveling at the technology. “Anything I can think of, literally,” Hiro said grinning from ear to ear. “That’s amazing, I can see why Robert wanted you at SFIT,” she commented and after a pause asked the next question, “Why did Robert say that he owed so much for you?”

“I guess saving him from a certain death in a fire counts as well as fixing you,” Hiro replied uneasily. “You saved him? How?” she asked. “That is a complicated story. One that took Abigail quite a lot to understand,” Hiro replied looking at Abigail. “Yeah, it’s quite a wild ride,” she agreed.

“I’m ready,” Mrs. Callaghan said confidently. “Ok. I’m a technopath,” Hiro said with a serious expression. “What? Really?” she curiously. “Yeah, why would I lie?” Hiro confirmed. “Can you show me, please?” she begged stretching the first ‘e’ in ‘please.’ “Fine,” Hiro replied, quite amused by her enthusiasm. “This is useless,” Hiro said tossing the transmitter away and picking up a single Microbot from the pile on the bed.

“This is how I usually do it,” Hiro said and linked with the Microbots. His eyes turned blue and Mrs. Callaghan gasped at the sight. “So, it is true,” she sighed. “And are your mind-reading abilities a side-effect?” She asked connecting the dots. “I suppose so,” Hiro replied.

“You wanted to see my Alter Ego?” Hiro asked. “Yeah,” she replied excitedly. “But first I have to be sure of one thing,” Hiro said and grabbed her hand and dived in. He was not amused by what he saw. “Genuine excitement...Curiosity...Malice...for telling her boss...about me...for personal gain.”

Hiro decided that he was going to play along and bust her the loud way. “You’re good,” He said out loud. “What did you do?” Professor Callaghan asked. “I checked her intentions for anything malicious,” Hiro replied truthfully. “Just a moment,” he said and walked behind a divider in front of his wardrobe. “This is what I usually wear around the house,” he said as he walked back in his Kevlar suit.

“Cut-resistant, padded and heated,” he listed the features. “Wow, you have a good taste,” Mrs. Callaghan commented as she looked over the boy clad in mat black with purple accents and the Microbot ‘H’ on his chest. “Yeah, he knows what badass means,” Abigail grinned. “That suit doesn’t look to be that protective,” Mrs. Callaghan said examining the fabric closely. “True, but this is not the armor,” Hiro explained. “It’s not?” she asked confused. “No, this is,” Hiro said and called over his Microbots, which formed his scale-like armor.

“That doesn’t look that intimidating,” she pointed out. “Oh, really no is it not?” Hiro asked switching to his opaque visor. “No, you look more like a toy,” she said. “How about now?” Hiro asked with a hint of annoyance and the prickles extended all over him. She gulped as she saw them. “I see,” She said holding her hands in front of her.

“Yeah, and they will hurt if I decide to make contact,” Hiro said. “Why do you bring that up?” She asked wearily, unable to determine what Hiro was thinking. “Oh, you should know. Don’t think I didn’t detect your ulterior motive,” Hiro said triumphantly. She gulped and went pale. “I can explain,” she started. “No, you can’t. How could you explain your desire to rat me and my abilities to Krei in order to get a promotion?” Hiro asked, his voice getting angrier with every word. “I... I thought that you wouldn’t know,” she stammered.

“And that is exactly why I checked your intentions,” Hiro said coldly, “You better abandon all connections to Krei, forever.” “What if I don’t?” she asked wearily. “I would be inclined to hug you...with the prickles out,” Hiro replied playful coldness in his voice. The two others were just staring at the scene unfolding in front of them.

“Mom! How could you!” Abigail was the first to explode. “I can explain,” she tried. “No, you cannot!” Abigail shouted in rage, “You don’t even understand the consequences of what revealing such information to Krei would cause!” “I...,” she tried to interject. “Don't interrupt me! Did you ever stop to think what Krei, a man who has no morals, would do with information about a boy having supernatural abilities?” Abigail continued.

“He would kidnap me and do experiments on me against my will, possibly for the rest of my life. He would no doubt make me use my powers to the point of blacking out, over and over again. Causing debilitating migraines in the process,” Hiro said grimly, “That is something I cannot let happen. Thus, every vector through which Krei could learn about me must be eliminated.” Professor Callaghan looked shocked. Abigail was still seething but looked shocked as well. But the statement hit Mrs. Callaghan the most. She started sobbing as hearing it from the boy himself made her realize that it was true. She would be ruining his life forever, not to mention his family.

“Just promise me not to tell anyone,” Hiro said and the Microbots retreated. “I won’t. I could never forgive myself if I knew that I ruined the life of someone for personal gain,” she sobbed. “It’s okay, the only thing that matters is that you didn’t do it,” Hiro comforted using the same words, which Tadashi had used when Hiro almost did the unthinkable.

“Thank you, Hiro...for setting my mind straight,” she said as she collected herself. “No, problem. I’ve also been at the edge myself,” Hiro comforted. “Why did you share your alter ego with me when you knew my intentions?” She asked. “I had already revealed too much at the point of checking. So, I decided that might as well go all in and use intimidation tactics,” Hiro replied.

“You weren’t that intimidating,” she said. “That’s because I went easy on you. I wouldn’t want to cause Abigail PTSD,” Hiro explained. “I see,” she nodded before suddenly hugging Hiro. “I’m sorry for my selfish thoughts. Please forgive me, Hiro,” she begged. “Nah, I already did. But thanks, anyway,” Hiro replied.

“We should probably be heading home soon,” Professor Callaghan said, “I’ve got some preparations to do for the soon starting school season.” “Very well, see you at school on Monday,” Hiro said as he stood up from his bed. “See you then,” Professor Callaghan confirmed. “And Abigail,” Hiro said and took the girl's hand, “Remember bot fighting,” he messaged wordlessly. “I will,” she messaged back and smiled. “See you then Technopathic genius bot fighter,” she messaged before Hiro closed the connection. Hiro then walked the trio to the front door and waved as they left.


	18. Nerd Gang reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro reveals his secret to the nerd gang.

It was Sunday and school would be starting tomorrow. Hiro had made the decision that today would be the perfect day to share his secret with the nerd gang. “Hey Tadashi, could you invite the whole nerd gang over?” Hiro asked. “Why?” Tadashi asked in response. “It’s time for me to tell them,” Hiro replied grinning. “Oh, really?” Tadashi asked. “Yep, but don’t say why you want them over,” Hiro confirmed. “Whatever you say technopath,” Tadashi chuckled. Hiro didn’t mind the nickname.

In ten minutes, the whole group had assembled at the Lucky Cat Café. The café was officially closed due to Aunt Cass having to go to a convention for the day. This meant that the group had the building to themselves. “It’s so good to see you, Hiro,” Honey Lemon said hugging the boy in question. “How’s it going little man?” Wasabi asked shaking his hand. “What’s up genius?” GoGo asked Fred nodding in agreement.

“It’s nice to see you too. And I'm doing fine,” Hiro replied to all of them at once. “So, why did you gather us here? Tadashi refused to say,” Honey Lemon asked. “I just wanted to catch up with you before school starts,” Hiro answered the question. “What have you been doing since the fire,” GoGo asked. “Let me see,” Tadashi started, “He saved me and Callaghan from the fire, we stopped Abigail’s robot when it went rampant because Mr. Krei stole it, he intimidated Krei to admitting that he stole it and set the expo on fire, and most recently he fixed Mrs. Callaghan’s mind.”

“Wow, you have been busy. And what do you mean by fixing Mrs. Callaghan’s mind?” Wasabi asked. “Well, I can read and influence human minds,” Hiro said without even a hint of a joke in his voice. “Wow, Are you a telepath?” Fred asked excitedly. “You could say that, but not technically a telepath,” Hiro replied.

“I don’t believe you,” GoGo said with disbelief clear in her voice. “A demonstration then. Give me your hand,” Hiro said holding out his hand. GoGo reluctantly agreed and placed her hand on Hiro’s. Hiro then connected to GoGo. Wasabi gasped when Hiro’s eyes turned blue. Hiro then sent a message. “Hey, GoGo still doubtful?” He asked and then cut the connection. “Wow, did you just talk in my head?” she asked. “Yeah, do you need more proof?” Hiro asked. “No, I believe you now,” she said.

“I’ve seen those eyes before,” Wasabi said, “When you had the neurotransmitter on you.” “Yeah, like this,” Hiro said and took the neurotransmitter from underneath his hoodie, put it on his head, and connected to it. “So, the transmitter wasn’t broken?” Wasabi asked as Hiro swirled Microbots around the group. “Actually, it was totally broken, the neural pickup was totally fried,” Hiro replied.

“So how did you control the Microbots?” Wasabi asked. “I can interface with the transmitter in other ways as well. It was more of an amplifier at the moment,” Hiro said. “What does that mean?” Honey Lemon asked concerned. “Truth be told, nowadays I don’t even need this,” Hiro said and took the transmitter off of his head, and before setting it on the table he transferred over to the Microbots directly, “I can control them with my mind directly.” “Ooh, You’re a technopath!” Fred yelled in excitement.

“Yep, that’s correct,” Hiro confirmed. “Awesome!” Fred yelled. “What is your range?” He asked as if it was a perfectly normal thing to ask. “About an inch for indefinite work. Half a meter for a slight headache for simple actions. A long-distance for a blackout level migraine,” Hiro replied, glad that someone had at least some knowledge on the subject.

“So, how are you controlling the Microbots? They are further than an inch from you,” Honey Lemon asked as she thought she understood what the two were talking about. “I actually do have a few Microbots on me,” Hiro said and unzipped his hoodie and shaking it off. “What are you wearing?” Wasabi asked looking at Hiro’s black and purple Kevlar suit. “Kevlar,” Hiro said spinning around.

“But why?” GoGo asked. “It’s comfortable, warm, and protective,” Hiro said. “And it makes sure that I always have Microbots on me,” Hiro continued, gesturing to the Microbot ‘H’ on his chest. “Protect from what?” Honey Lemon asked with concern. “Whatever I need protection from,” Hiro replied, “And this is just the undergarment.” “Wait? There’s more?” Wasabi asked.

“Yes, there is. But he can be very dangerous and scary when he wears it,” Tadashi said. “How could you ever be scary?” Honey Lemon asked, “You’re always so sweet.” “That’s because I don’t have a reason to hurt you,” Hiro replied. “Show us already,” Fred begged. “Fine, you asked for it,” Hiro said and collected his Microbot armor and choosing his purple transparent visor.

“Wow, that’s what I call hidden armor,” Fred exclaimed. “Yeah, it’s especially nice when traveling on the highway,” Hiro agreed. “Doesn’t look that scary to me,” GoGo pointed out drily. “Don’t underestimate him. For all we know, he could have something nasty hidden in there,” Fred pointed out. “Like what?” GoGo asked. “Like...,” Fred’s mind stopped for a moment when he saw what Hiro’s armor was doing. One by one, Microbots were raising up and then laying flat. “What are you doing?” Wasabi asked noticing this as well. “Waiting for you to finish your argument,” Hiro said patiently. The four teens quieted down.

“Now that I have your attention, observe closely,” Hiro said and then started raising the Microbots. “No, offense but you look like a blunt Hedgehog,” Honey Lemon said sympathetically. “Go ahead, pet me if I'm so cuddly,” Hiro said sarcastically. Honey Lemon got nervously closer and to her surprise, the protrusions yielded under her fingers and rose back up after them.

“You’re lucky that I trust you not to hurt me,” Hiro said after a few seconds. “How so?” she asked with a look of concern. “Step back,” Hiro said and waited for her to comply. “Yeah, about me being blunt. Not true, I'm incredibly sharp,” Hiro said and extended the tungsten carbide tips. The nerd group just looked at the sharp tips. “Still up for hugs?” Hiro asked innocently. “I can see how that could be dangerous when used correctly,” GoGo said seeing the inherent danger in Hiro’s form.

“You’re still not scary,” GoGo pointed out, “Dangerous but not scary.” “That’s because you aren’t afraid of me going at you with these,” Hiro said raising his hand full of sharp prickles. “So, you don’t scare us because we know that we are safe,” she confirmed. “Precisely,” Hiro nodded and then dropped his Microbot armor.

“What else can you do besides this?” Fred asked. “I can use electronic devices without ever looking at them,” Hiro said and connected to his phone and rapidly sent everyone an individual text message. I can also talk on the phone without anyone being none the wiser. “Let’s not forget his ability to use computers at superhuman speeds,” Tadashi piped up.

“Yeah, that,” Hiro replied. Then he started telling the specifics of the recent events but leaving out his outbursts and their consequences. After that, the nerds shared how their time had gone along, and soon after that, they left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, Hiro's first few days at SFIT. Of course, it doesn't go quite as smoothly as Tadashi would have hoped.


	19. Nerd School - Tech Heaven or Bully Land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro's first day at SFIT. Of course, he gets bullied for his age. Too bad, Hiro wasn't in the mood to be bullied.

It was Monday morning, the first day at the nerd school, and Hiro was with Tadashi ready to head out. “Are you excited?” Tadashi asked. “Isn’t it apparent?” Hiro asked in response. “Yeah, it is, techie” Tadashi said and ruffled Hiro’s hair. “Is my little college man leaving for school?” Aunt Cass asked as she handed Hiro his lunch. “Yeah, and super excited about it,” he replied.

“You look good by the way, apart from the hair that is,” Aunt Cass said as she examined Hiro. “Thanks, Aunt Cass. I knew that a hoodie over my suit would do the trick,” Hiro replied. And he was right. It really looked like he was wearing thick black pants and a hoodie, no one would guess that it was actually a full suit.

“Alright, let’s leave before we’ll be late. See you in the evening, Aunt Cass,” Tadashi said and opened the door. Hiro followed suit and they soon were at the school. “Let’s see. I should have Robotics as a career first and Robotics 101 after lunch,” Hiro said looking at his timetable. “That shouldn’t be easy. Let’s just hope that it isn’t boring,” Hiro said.

“Professor Callaghan’s lectures are rarely boring,” Tadashi assured his genius brother, “He usually invites some robotics expert to introduce his invention or product.” “That’s cool,” Hiro agreed, “I wouldn't be surprised if he asked me to introduce Microbots.” “You’re probably right. Now off you go. We’ll see each other at lunch,” Tadashi said. “See you,” Hiro replied and walked toward where his class was.

Hiro got to the class and there were about a dozen students of different ethnicities. Scattered around the auditorium style classroom. Professor Callaghan hasn’t arrived yet. Hiro had the hood of his hoodie up when he entered the room. A few of the students instantly gave him bad vibes. He decided to take a seat in the front row. He could hear a group of teens chuckling and whispering something to this obese teen. Hiro had a tingling about what they were whispering about. That was the telltale sign of “let’s bully this considerably younger student until he cries for mommy,” type of bullying, which Hiro had grown up with in high school.

Then professor Callaghan walked in and the room went quiet. “Good morning students,” he greeted. “Good morning Professor Callaghan,” Hiro instinctively replied. “Good morning Hiro,” he replied. This got a chuckle from the back row. And Hiro could have sworn someone whispered, “teachers’ pet.” He decided to ignore it for now.

“Alright, let’s get the school year started,” Professor Callaghan said, “Let’s start by introducing ourselves.” “Yeah, whatever,” someone shouted from the rear, but it didn’t faze Professor Callaghan. “My name is Robert Callaghan. And I'm the dean of this school,” he introduced himself. Then was Hiro’s turn. “My name is Hiro Hamada and I'm fourteen,” Hiro introduced himself, this got chuckles from the back, he ignored them. This went on as usual until it got to the obese kid. “I’m Yama and these are my friends,” he said gesturing to the group of three in the back row. (A/N: This Yama is like the one in the movie but 18 years old. Yama from the movie is someone else in this timeline.)

“Some of you may find this class a bit too easy but I hope that it’d at least be interesting,” Professor Callaghan said looking at Hiro, who gave him a sly smile. “Today I have invited a special guest to talk about how robotics can be a good career path to follow,” the professor continued, “Please welcome Alistair Krei, CEO of Krei Tech.” There was clapping as Krei walked in all smiles, but he froze when he saw Hiro sitting in the front row.

“Is that...Are you Hiro Hamada?” he stammered. “Yes, I am,” Hiro replied, “Seems like we meet again Mr. Krei,” he added grinning. “Yes, so it would seem,” Krei said collecting himself and getting up to where Callaghan was standing. Krei then talked about how he got to be so wealthy due to robotics and all that for three whole hours. Most of the students were practically falling asleep but Hiro on the other hand was absorbing every detail about this man as he could.

Then the class ended, and Professor Callaghan pulled Hiro to the side. “Hiro, would it be at all possible for you to bring your Microbots to afternoon’s class?” Professor Callaghan asked. “I have some of the bots on me, but I'd have to get the transmitter from home,” Hiro replied, “I’ll see what I can do.” “Thank you, Hiro,” he said as they parted ways.

They had just parted ways when Hiro heard what he was dreading. “Hey, Zero,” It was Yama. Hiro decided that it would be best to book it out of there. So, he took off running toward the Periodic Table CaFe with his pursuants behind him. He burst into the café and noticed his friends sitting at one of the tables, so he made his way over to where they were.

“Why are you running?” Tadashi asked concerned. “Wannabe bullies,” Hiro replied panting. “Already? That’s not cool,” Wasabi said sympathetically. “Tadashi, I have to get the neurotransmitter from home for afternoon’s class. Could you give me a ride home and back?” Hiro asked. “Sure, but why do you need it?” Tadashi agreed. “Professor Callaghan specifically asked for me to bring Microbots to class,” Hiro replied, “I have the bots, but the transmitter is at home since I don’t normally use it.”

“Let’s leave then,” Tadashi said and got up. It was a short while later that Hiro had his neurotransmitter on him. And he was waiting in class for Professor Callaghan to show up. Hiro had the transmitter on his head, covered by his hoodie and the backpack with Microbots next to him.

Then the bullies arrived but Hiro pretended that he hadn’t heard them. “Hey, Zero. Did you run to your mommy?” Yama asked mockingly. Hiro didn’t reply, he had played this game before and knew that not paying any attention was the best way to make most bullies stop. Professor Callaghan came in before the bullies could say anything else.

“Good afternoon students,” he greeted, “Since this is the first lecture on robotics, I would like to introduce to one example of robotics we aim to invent at this school.” There were a few approving sounds among the students. “Hiro, would you introduce your classmates to Microbots?” Professor Callaghan asked. “Of course, professor,” Hiro replied and got up, grabbed his backpack, and walked to the front of the room.

“First of all, how many of you saw my presentation at the showcase two weeks ago?” Hiro asked. Everyone except Yama’s group raised their hands. “Good, so you’ve already seen what Microbots are capable of. But to sum it up, they can do almost anything I can think of,” Hiro started. And then talked about how the invention came to be and his inspiration behind it. Then he formed a hand, out of the Microbots and waved goodbye before packing the bots back to his backpack and returning to his seat. “Thank you, Hiro,” Professor Callaghan thanked him before continuing the lecture. It was honestly fairly interesting even though Hiro already knew most of it.

Then the class ended. And Hiro was walking out as he had earlier. And once again the bullies were waiting. “Hey Zero,” Yama called out for the third time that day. “What is it, Little Yama?” Hiro asked in an equally mocking tone. He was taken aback by Hiro’s cool. The boy was not intimidated at all.

“You know what happens to rats like you?” Yama asked. “Yep, you’re bullies and I’m your unfortunate target,” Hiro said plainly. “How did you?” Yama stammered as he wasn’t expecting Hiro to reply. “This ain’t my first rodeo,” Hiro replied. “In fact, you’re not even bullies. You’re too pathetic to be,” Hiro said.

That did the trick. “You little piece of shit. I’m gonna shove you into some locker and leave you there,” he threatened, his posture also changing. “Oh, are we playing that game again?” Hiro asked innocently, “Too bad, I’m not in.”

“It’s not about whether you’re in or not. It’s about what I want to do to you. You got no say in this,” Yama steamed on. “Go ahead try me,” Hiro said, dropped his backpack, and threw his hoodie to the side revealing the neurotransmitter and Hiro’s Kevlar suit. “What?” Yama asked with a confused tone. “Yeah, I’m not some ordinary kid,” Hiro said, “I’m fourteen and in college after all.”

“That suit of yours doesn’t change anything. You’re still a fourteen-year-old. Against three of us,” Yama intimidated. “Maybe I am, but I’m not any fourteen-year-old,” Hiro said and suddenly Microbots crawled from his backpack and climbed to their places around Hiro, forming his armor. The bullies looked wearily at the sight in front of them. The bullies looked worriedly at each other before Yama said, “You’re not scaring me.” “Oh, was I supposed to?” Hiro asked innocently and puffed up. This had the desired effect.

“Tungsten carbide, extremely sharp. I’d avoid at all costs,” Hiro said and grinned. It felt good to stick it to the bullies. The bullies took a few steps back when they saw the humanoid of sharpness in front of them. “If I were you, I would stop bullying me,” Hiro said. “Of course, that is on the assumption that you don’t want me on you,” Hiro said stepping a bit closer and opened his arms as if he was coming in for a hug. The bullies then turned around and ran out of there. “Sure, go to your mommies and tell them that you three got scared by a fourteen-year-old,” Hiro shouted after them.

When they were out of reach Hiro slumped next to the wall and started laughing his head off. Not a minute later Tadashi came around the corner and when he saw Hiro laughing there, he got curious. “Why are you laughing?” he asked curiously. “Just the look on those bullies' faces when they realized that they took too big of a bite for them to chew,” Hiro said giggling. “So, you showed them who's the boss?” Tadashi asked.

“You could say that. Although being hedgehog did most of the talking for me,” Hiro replied calming a little. “So, you showed you’re sharp side and they just ran?” Tadashi asked. “Yep, turns out if you know me. I’m not scary, but if you don’t, that’s a different story,” Hiro confirmed. “They were total wussies,” Hiro added. “Probably won’t be seeing them anytime soon,” Hiro finished. “Let’s get to our lab and rearrange it a bit,” Tadashi said as he pulled Hiro to his feet. “Yeah, sure,” Hiro agreed and grabbed his hoodie and backpack. They then spent a few hours arranging Tadashi’s lab so that two people could work there at the same time.

After they had gotten the lab sorted to their liking. Hiro went off to marvel at all of the different inventions around the lab. And of course, he couldn’t resist the urge to reverse engineer their tech. He was blown away by some of the stuff he saw. And the 3D printer in Tadashi’s lab. That was so much better than the one at home. He however managed to not tell the machine to print his gift for Tadashi’s birthday, which the nerd in question seemed to have forgotten was coming.

“So, how was your first day?” Tadashi asked while they were riding home. “Just awesome,” Hiro replied beaming with excitement, “Classes were not too boring, making bullies run away was fun and the lab was Tech heaven.” “Good to hear that you had fun,” Tadashi nodded in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't help it. I like intimidating Hiro. (A/N: This can be understood both ways. I like when Hiro is the one intimidating someone.)
> 
> Next time, Hiro meets a girl his age at school.


	20. Just a Girlfriend or Something More?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro defends a girl from bullies and a relationship grows from it. And is there something else as well?

Tuesday started normally. Hiro didn’t have classes until after lunch. Unlike Tadashi who had the whole day. So that meant he had their shared private (A/N: That’s a weird word combination) lab to himself for the morning. And what better thing to use the time on than use the lab’s fancy 3D printer to fabricate Tadashi’s present. He got the whole thing printed and assembled before lunch. He then put the present in his backpack before heading to lunch.

\--- After lunch with Tadashi. Nerd crew nowhere to be seen.

Hiro was exiting the cafeteria with Tadashi when he spotted the three bullies cornering a girl about his age. “Hey, look. The bullies have a new target,” Hiro said tugging Tadashi’s shirt. “What are you thinking about?” Tadashi asked with a worried yet understanding look on his face. “I’m going to stop them,” Hiro said with an evil grin forming on his face. “Oh, have fun,” Tadashi said looking at his brother and smiling encouragingly. Hiro then dropped his backpack and took off his hoodie. And closed his eyes to hide the transition to blue just in case. Then the Microbots got out of Hiro’s backpack and formed his armor including the tinted purple visor. He had added that in as a third option when he wanted privacy but didn’t need the intimidation the black visor came with,

He made his way toward where the bullies were. And by some miracle, they didn’t notice his approach. He tapped on Yama’s shoulder. The bullies turned around and the face they made was of pure horror. “Hi, Little Yama. Remember me?” Hiro asked cheerily. “No, I don’t think so,” Yama pretended. “Oh, I do remember you bullying me and then running off like pansies,” Hiro replied. “I don’t really…,” Yama started. “Don’t fool with me,” Hiro said and extended his prickles. The bullies took off running.

Hiro looked triumphantly toward where the bullies had run to. Then he lowered his defenses and turned to the girl. “Hey, are you alright?” He asked. “Yeah, I think so,” she replied and stood up, “Thank you for defending me.” “My pleasure,” Hiro said and turned around.

“Wait! What is your name?” The girl asked intently, “You seem like a nice person.” “Thanks,” Hiro replied, “But I’d rather not reveal my identity to everyone here,” Hiro said gesturing to the group of people that had formed to observe the scene. “But you can find me in the robotics lab after classes. Just ask ‘where you can find the creator of this?’,” Hiro said and plucked one of the Microbots from his armor and deactivated it then giving it to the girl. “But I’m not a student here,” the girl protested. “Why are you here then?” Hiro asked raising an eyebrow, not that she could see it through the tinted visor.

“I’m creating a news story on the topic of robotics. A sort of what and why for the masses,” she explained. “Cool, so you’re a journalist?” Hiro asked for confirmation. “Yes. It’s nice to have your voice heard. Usually, no one takes a fourteen-year-old seriously,” she confirmed.

“So has someone been showing you around?” Hiro asked. “Yeah, I’ve been shadowing Professor Callaghan’s lectures today,” she answered. “Maybe you could ask him to give you a tour of the lab,” Hiro suggested. “I will do that. But what if he doesn’t agree to it?” she asked. “He will. He is too passionate about his school,” Hiro said jokingly. “Yeah, he is enthusiastic,” she laughed. “Err, what is your name?” Hiro asked. “Megan,” The girl replied.

“Well, Megan. I have to go, I have classes also,” Hiro said and walked away while doing so he sent Professor Callaghan a text message: “Hey, Mr. Callaghan. If the journalist Megan asks you to tour the nerd lab for her, just accept. It was my suggestion. But don’t tell her that. She doesn’t know civilian me yet.” The reply was an approving one.

He then grabbed his hoodie and backpack which Tadashi was guarding and headed behind the corner to get his armor off and put his hoodie on. Then he headed to class.

Robotics 101, Hiro was sitting in class waiting for the professor, and truth be told he did like the girl, Megan. Soon professor Callaghan came in followed by Megan, who got a nervous look when she saw his bullies, who snickered when they saw her but shut up when Hiro glared daggers at them.

Megan looked around the room and her eyes stopped on the raven-haired boy, who was considerably younger than the other students. The boy was sitting in the front row and Megan found something cute in the boy, so she decided to head there. Hiro looked up when he saw someone approaching. “Mind if I sit here?” Megan asked the raven-haired boy. “Go on ahead,” Hiro replied. He had expected Megan to be there.

Then there was an awkward silence that was broken by Professor Callaghan. “Good afternoon students,” He started the lecture, “Today we have a journalist shadowing the class, please don’t mind her.” There were a few approving nods. The actual lesson was a fairly normal one. Hiro didn’t even bother to raise his hand as Professor Callaghan and he both knew that Hiro already knew this subject thoroughly. He was aware that to Megan’s eyes he probably looked like he was disinterested in the topic.

Soon the class ended and most of the class poured out. Which left Hiro, Megan, and Professor Callaghan in the room. Megan had an uneasy expression on her face, which Professor Callaghan noticed. “Is something bothering you Megan?” He asked. “It’s just that I got bullied by some of your students during lunch,” she answered. “Who was it?” Professor Callaghan asked concerned. “I think my savior called one of them ‘Little Yama’,” she answered. “Oh, that bunch,” Callaghan said his face dropping to a frown, “There have been numerous reports about them. But none have even been proven. They have never been caught on a security camera.”

“But who do you mean with your savior?” he asked intrigued. “He refused to reveal his identity in front of a crowd. He just told me to find him in the robotics lab,” she answered. “But there are a lot of students there normally. How could you find the one you are looking for?” Professor Callaghan asked curiously. “Well, specifically he told me to ask for the creator of this, piece of his armor,” Megan said and showed him the Microbot.

Professor Callaghan glanced at Hiro when he realized what Megan was holding. Hiro signaled something akin to “not yet.” “I see, well I’m sure that you will find him with it,” I could take you there. “Really?” Megan asked totally not expecting it. “Yes, it would be my pleasure,” he confirmed. “I’ll come too since I’m going there as well,” Hiro replied.

Professor Callaghan nodded and then they left for the nerd lab. Megan was totally oblivious of the slight deceit going on between the two males. They made their way to the nerd lab where there were only a few students at that time. “How’s it going, Hiro?” Wasabi greeted. “I’m good, Wasabi,” Hiro replied. Then there was Tadashi. “Did you get bullied?” He asked examining him. “Aah, Tadashi! I’m fine,” Hiro protested and pushed Tadashi away.

Tadashi just laughed and went back to his lab to work on Baymax. “I’ll leave you here,” Professor Callaghan said, “One of the students can show you out when you want to leave.” Megan just nodded in agreement and Professor Callaghan turned to leave. “Oh, Professor Callaghan. You may want to check security camera 3-97-1. Yesterday afternoon after our lecture ended. It should be interesting,” Hiro said cryptically. Callaghan had a confused look but didn’t say anything, He then left.

“Err, do you know who created this?” Megan asked Hiro and showed him the Microbot. “Let me think. Yes, yes, I do,” Hiro said innocently, barely holding his poker face. “Who is it?” Megan asked dying to know. “Hiro Hamada,” Hiro replied. “Wait? You?” She asked confused. “Yep,” Hiro replied.

“So, you saved me from those bullies. Why didn’t you tell me earlier? We were sitting next to each other the whole afternoon,” she asked. “I told you that you would find me here. And I happen to like pranks, so it was logical to wait until we were here,” Hiro replied. “So, a prankster? How old are you?” she asked. “Fourteen,” Hiro replied. “And you study here? And what are these…Microbots?” she asked. “I do study here, started yesterday,” Hiro replied, “And these guys are the way I got in here.”

“Could you show me?” Megan asked looking at Hiro in the eyes. The look made Hiro flustered. “Only if you’re good at holding secrets,” Hiro replied. “Oh, I’m the best,” Megan said sincerely. “Good, let’s go in here,” Hiro said and led them to a spare lab that was used for storage.

“You have a good sense of style,” Megan said looking at Hiro’s pants. “Thanks, you will definitely love the rest of it,” Hiro said and took off his backpack and hoodie. “Forget about what I said. You look totally badass,” Megan said looking at Hiro’s suit as a whole. “Thanks, Megan,” Hiro said.

“So, what is this secret of yours?” She asked intently. “Well, I have supernatural abilities,” Hiro replied looking at Megan’s reaction. “Really? I wasn’t expecting that,” she admitted. “Give me your hand,” Hiro requested. “Why?” “Just do,” Hiro repeated, “I want to check something.”

Megan then took his hand and Hiro began feeling around for Megan’s connection, which he found and when he connected, he found something truly spectacular. “Honesty…Curiosity…Sincerity…Questions…around why…Hiro was…humming.” Hiro then disconnected.

“Were…were you reading my mind?” Megan asked. “Yes, how did you know?” Hiro asked taken aback by the sudden question. “Your eyes turned blue and then I felt this strange presence in my mind. It disappeared at the same time your eyes turned normal again,” she said. “That’s news to me, no one has ever felt it unless I make myself known,” Hiro replied. “Why did you do it in the first place?” Megan asked demanding an answer. “I had to make sure that you don’t have any malicious intent. I’ve been almost tricked once,” Hiro replied. “I can accept that,” she nodded.

“So, what’s with the electric blue eyes?” she asked. “It’s something to do with my abilities,” Hiro replied, “I really have no idea why they turn blue.” “What is your ability?” she asked. “I’m a technopath,” Hiro replied. “Wow, Cool,” she replied. “You seem to take that very well,” Hiro commented, “Most people won’t believe me without heavy proof.”

“I believe you. You have that same sincerity as I do,” she said. “Thank you, Megan,” Hiro thanked the girl. “Are you going to show off your Microbots or not?” she asked looking at Hiro. “Oh, right,” Hiro caught on. And connected to his Microbots. “When I originally built them, I used a neural transmitter to control them. Nowadays I just need a single bot within an inch of my body for efficient operation,” Hiro said while the bots were circling the two teens.

“So, what can they do?” she asked. “Anything I can think of, literally,” Hiro replied. Megan nodded getting the joke. Hiro then collected his armor except for the helmet portion. Megan looked at the Microbot scales of Hiro’s armor. Then she reached forward and touched the scales. First carefully then she started petting Hiro’s arm. Hiro shivered slightly at the sensation. “So smooth,” she sighed. “You probably saw my more dangerous form earlier,” Hiro asked for confirmation. “Yeah, I did. You were quite intimidating,” she answered.

Hiro then sent his armor back to his backpack and stood up. “It was nice to meet you, Megan,” Hiro said looking her in the eyes. “Likewise,” she answered. “I’d really like to get to know you better,” Hiro said awkwardly. “Are you asking me out on a date?” She asked raising an eyebrow. “I guess so,” Hiro replied. “Of course, I will come out on a date. Where should we go?” she asked.

“Well, I live in a café, so…” Hiro said leaving the sentence hanging. “Which Café?” Megan asked. “Lucky Cat Café,” Hiro replied. “My dad always talks about how that place has the best donuts in town,” Megan said. “He’s not wrong,” Hiro replied. “When do you have free time?” Megan asked looking at Hiro. “Any day past four. Tomorrow the entire afternoon,” Hiro listed off. “Great, I also have the afternoon off,” she replied. “How does 12:30 sound?” Hiro suggested. “Sounds great,” she agreed.

“Well then, let’s get going. I’ll show you out,” Hiro said, and they headed out. Hiro grabbed Tadashi from their shared lab, and they headed home. On the way home, Tadashi could no longer hold it in, “Who is she?” “Megan, a journalist and a damn nice girl,” Hiro replied truthfully, getting slightly flustered. “Do I sense a relationship forming?” Tadashi teased. “The feeling is mutual. And I’d really watch who you’re teasing,” Hiro said grinning like a mad man.

\--- The next day, Wednesday

The school was nothing new. Hiro had classes and lunch and then he headed home using Microbots as his choice of mobility.

Soon it was half-past twelve and Megan would be arriving any minute now. Hiro was barely able to contain his excitement. A few minutes later the chief of SFPD walked in with Megan following him. “Good afternoon, Miss Cass,” the chief greeted Hiro’s aunt. “Likewise, Diego. What brings you here tonight? And you brought your daughter as well,” Aunt Cass was all over the two.

“Oh, you know this place has the best donuts. And Megan really wanted to come here to meet Hiro,” the chief answered. “Dad!” Megan protested, her cheeks turning slightly red. “Oh, Hiro why didn’t you tell me that you found a girl?” Aunt Cass cooed. “Aunt Cass!” Hiro protested turning equally red. “Come on, Megan. Let’s go to my room,” Hiro said gesturing upstairs. “Sure, anything to get away from those creeps,” Megan said laughing lightheartedly.

“Please excuse the mess,” Hiro said as they entered the attic bedroom. “I don’t mind it. But why is there a clear divide in the room, this side is messy, and that side is clean?” she asked looking around the room. “That side is Tadashi’s. I have no idea how he manages to keep it that clean,” Hiro replied laughing slightly. “Oh, I see,” she replied, sitting next to Hiro on his bed.

“You seem to like robots,” she commented looking at the robots and their parts littering Hiro’s desk. “Yeah, I do like bot fighting,” Hiro replied. “Aren’t they illegal?” she asked. “Betting is. Bot fighting isn’t, that’s why I recently stopped going to them,” he answered truthfully. “That sentence makes no sense,” Megan pointed out, “It implies that you stopped going to bot fights because they aren’t illegal.”

“Yeah, I should probably word that a little differently,” Hiro agreed, “I stopped going to bot fights because I’ve been going to the illegal ones exclusively.” “Why don’t you go to any of the legal ones?” Megan asked. “No one wants to fight me because I always win,” Hiro replied with a slightly depressed voice. “That’s a shame, I would have liked to see you fight,” she admitted. “You still might, I have been planning on making a bot fighting an official afterschool activity with one of my friends,” he revealed his plan.

“That’s cool? Is it for students only or is anyone free to come?” she asked. “Students and anyone younger than 18,” he replied. “Can I try your bot?” Megan asked looking at Hiro excitedly. “Of course,” Hiro said and handed him Megabot’s controller. “That’s not a lot of buttons,” she remarked looking at the controller. “Pull it open,” Hiro replied, and Megan did so. Then she got confused. “What do all of these buttons do?” she asked. “They are for controlling each of Megabot’s body segments,” he explained, “I’ll show you when we get the bot fights started.” “Sounds good to me,” she nodded.

“You also seem to be enthusiastic about robots,” Hiro commented. “Yeah, is it that obvious?” she asked blushing a bit. “Well, yeah. The way you looked at my Microbots gave it away pretty quickly,” Hiro replied smiling slightly. “Yet another thing we have in common,” she agreed smiling back.

“Megan. I’ve been meaning to ask,” Hiro started awkwardly. “What is it?” she asked concerned. “When I looked in your mind. You were wondering why I was humming. What’s up with that?” Hiro asked looking at Megan intently. “I don’t know. You just hum quietly,” she replied truthfully. “Touch me,” Hiro said. “Why?” “Just do.” Megan looked confused but did so. “Is the hum stronger now?” Hiro asked. “Yes, a lot. How did you know?” she asked.

“For me, everything has this hum. Both humans and machines,” Hiro replied, “Try to follow the hum, let it guide you.” Megan looked confused but did as Hiro asked. He then felt a presence in his head. This must be how Megan felt when he prodded her mind. “I think you’re in,” Hiro said looking at Megan. “Yeah, I can feel your intentions,” she said. “You feel…Excited…Curious…Content,” she listed. “Try to say something in there,” Hiro asked. “Hey Hiro, Am I in your head?” she tried asking.

“Yeah, you are,” Hiro sent the reply. Megan then exited Hiro’s mind and both of the teens got a mischievous grin on their faces. “This is going to be fun,” Hiro finally said. “Yes, it is,” Megan agreed, “let’s keep this a secret from my dad.” “Agreed, and by the way. Your eyes don’t change color when you poked in there,” Hiro pointed out.

“They didn’t?” she asked. “No, I think it may be because you aren’t a technopath,” Hiro suggested. “What am I then?” she asked intrigued. “I think that you’re a telepath since you can’t feel machines,” Hiro continued. “I think I like you even more now, techie,” she said and hugged Hiro, “you know I have never had a true friend before.”

“Neither have I,” Hiro replied, “Being four years younger than everyone else kind of makes you a target for bullies.” “Yeah, I get that from other journalists. They seem to think that a kid can’t be a good journalist,” Megan agreed. “That’s unprofessional for them,” Hiro replied.

“I think that my dad is probably waiting for me already,” Megan said, “Could we share phone numbers?” “Of course, give me your phone,” Hiro said. “Okay,” Megan said and gave Hiro her phone. Hiro took the phone and his eyes flashed blue for a second. “Done. My number is now on your contact list. And I have a message from you, from which I grabbed your number.” Hiro said. “Wow. That was fast,” Megan remarked. “Yeah, when you don’t have to wait for the screen things go fast,” Hiro agreed.

The two teens with a shared secret walked downstairs hand in hand. “How did it go?” Diego asked. “It went well. I really like him a lot,” Megan replied truthfully, looking at Hiro fondly, “He is so smart and sincere.” “What about you Hiro, how do you like her?” Aunt Cass asked. “Let’s just say that we have a lot in common,” Hiro replied.

“Well, see you someday,” Megan said. “Yeah, text whenever,” Hiro replied waving at her when they left. Hiro sighed in contentment. He was really excited about what their relationship and the shared secret would bring about.

\--- A few hours later

“So, Aunt Cass told me Megan came to visit you,” Tadashi said. “Yeah, she did,” Hiro replied, not paying him much attention. “What did you two talk about?” Tadashi prodded. “I could say that we talked about school or I could say that we talked about robots and bot fighting or I could say that we talked about supernatural abilities,” Hiro replied cryptically. “You’re seriously not considering running off to a bot fight with her?” Tadashi asked. “What!? NO,” Hiro exclaimed in shock. Tadashi started laughing, “I’m just messing with you. I know you wouldn’t.”

“Oh, are we playing that game? Fine,” Hiro said with a mischievous grin and connected to his Microbots. “Oh no!” Tadashi exclaimed. He knew what that grin meant. Then the Microbots grabbed hold of him. “What are you going to do?” Tadashi asked half intrigued half worried.

“Since you seem to like laughing so much, I thought I’d help you,” Hiro said mischievously. “Which means?” Tadashi asked. He got his answer in the form of Microbots pulling him to Hiro’s bed and pinning him down. Hiro then got on top of him and started tickling his belly ferociously. Tadashi started laughing and squirming around trying to escape his brother’s tickling fingers but to no avail.

“Please stop!” Tadashi pleaded amidst the laughter. “Ok,” Hiro said letting Tadashi catch his breath. “Just kidding,” Hiro said and continued tickle tormenting his brother. After a few minutes of Hiro tickling his brother and Tadashi pleading and begging for him to stop, Hiro decided that Tadashi had had enough for the day. “Thank you,” Tadashi said breathing heavily, grateful that it was over. Even though the Microbots let go of him, he didn’t move, who knew being tickled would be this exhausting.

“I told you not to mess with me,” Hiro said smugly. “Point taken,” Tadashi said, “Please don’t do that again.” “It’s up to you. If you behave then I won’t have to,” Hiro replied with a sly smile. “Unbelievable,” Tadashi exclaimed running fingers through his hair, “My brother is making ultimatums at me.” Hiro just laughed lightheartedly and hugged Tadashi who returned the gesture. Even if they sometimes acted like they were at war with each other, they were still brothers and would do anything to have the other around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, I'm pulling her from the series.
> 
> Next time: Hiro organizes some bot fighting.


	21. School Sanctioned Bot Fights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro and Abigail host their first bot. They got unexpected participants, and Hiro made a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot, the First proper OC (who isn't a one-off) of this fic gets introduced in this chapter.

\--- Thursday

It was Thursday. Hiro and Abigail had decided that they would pitch their idea of an official bot fighting club to Professor Callaghan today. They had agreed to meet outside of the professor’s office. And to no one’s surprise, both of them were exactly on time. “You ready to ask for some awesomeness to be set up?” Hiro asked. “Of course, anything for bot fighting,” Abigail responded. They both laughed at each other’s enthusiasm.

Hiro then knocked on the door. “Come in,” came the professor’s reply. Hiro pushed the door open. “Ah, good afternoon Hiro…and Abigail,” Professor Callaghan greeted, “What brings you two here?” “Bot fighting,” Hiro replied. Professor Callaghan’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?” He asked. “We all know that going to illegal bot fights is a bad idea,” Abigail said. “Yeah, I don’t like it when you go to them,” Professor Callaghan agreed. “Neither does Tadashi when I went to them,” Hiro added.

“So, we were thinking on some legal alternatives,” Abigail said. “Why don’t you just go to one of the legal ones? There are dozens around,” the professor asked. “We can’t,” Hiro replied. “Why not?” Mr. Callaghan asked. “I don’t like the atmosphere they have. Bunch of diehards competing for who is the best,” Abigail said. “And I hold a reputation of the winner by default in all of them. No one wants to fight me,” Hiro said.

“So, what does this have to do with me?” He asked. “Well, we were thinking of forming bot fighting afterschool club,” Hiro revealed. “I like the idea, but what would the school get from it?” Professor Callaghan asked clearly interested in the concept. “Consider it as extracurricular applied robotics,” Hiro answered. “Who is it targeted for? Just students or…,” he asked. “Students and all kids who are interested. I’m going to build some loanable bots for those who don’t have their own,” Hiro replied.

“You have clearly thought about this a lot, haven’t you?” Professor Callaghan asked smiling. “Yeah, I even have a poster ready to print minus the final details,” Hiro replied. “I am happy to say that you have a green light. When is it going to be?” He announced. “We were thinking on every Friday at 5PM,” Hiro replied. “I might come to spectate if that is ok with you,” he asked. “Totally,” Hiro and Abigail both agreed.

“Well, we have to go and hang the posters, see you tomorrow,” Hiro said, and they left for the photocopier. “Hiro plugged his USB-drive into the printer with the mostly finalized poster. He just mind-edited the details to be correct. Then he printed about a dozen of them.” He gave Abigail half of them and they started putting them up around the Campus. One even in the nerd lab. Luckily, Tadashi was too busy to notice Hiro putting the poster up. Hiro then went to his computer and posted the poster to the “student hosted extracurricular activities” section on the school website.

The poster? It looked like this. It had the text: “Are you a robotics student who is looking to put those hard-earned skills into use on something fun? Or are you someone who doesn’t like the competitive nature of most bot fight places? Or maybe you have a younger sibling who is interested in bot fighting and you’d like them to participate in a safe environment. Come/Bring Him/Her here. To the official SFIT bot fighting afterschool club. Every Friday at 5PM in the Ito Ishioka Robotics Lab auditorium. Bring your own bot or use one of ours if you don’t have one.” There was also a picture of two Megabot’s bowing at each other. There was also a QR-code telling to prefill the form contained within.

\---

“Hey Dashi! Time to go home!” Hiro announced to their shared lab once he was done with his bot posters. “Coming!” Tadashi responded. Tadashi was walking out of the building when he spotted one of the posters. “Huh,” He thought. “Who would have thought. It does sound kind of interesting though. And Hiro has no doubt already joined so might as well,” he reasoned. He then scanned the QR-code and was greeted by a form with some questions: “Name…Tadashi Hamada, Age…21, Status (SFIT Student/Outsider) …Student, Previous bot fighting experience (None/Little, always lose/Average, some wins some losses/I’m the best) …None, I’m filling this for (Myself/Someone else) …Myself, I own a bot (Yes/No) …No, Other… ‘My LB joined so might as well’.” He could have taken one of Hiro’s bots and said “yes” to the question about the bot, but he didn’t want to find out what Hiro would do if he found out.

\---

When Tadashi got home, he noticed that Hiro had barricaded himself in the garage and wouldn’t let him in. “What are you doing there?” Tadashi asked. “It’s a secret,” Hiro replied. In reality, he was assembling one of the bots for tomorrow, a snake looking robot. The other robot would have a claw-like grabby hand and a buzzsaw. Both of them had a weakness that the other could exploit, so they were fairly even.

\--- Evening

Hiro sent Megan a text message with a link to the poster on the school website and a message, “It’s happening.” Megan’s reply was almost instantaneous. “I will fill the form then. See you there,” it raid.

\--- Friday

It was around four 4PM and Hiro had finished building three of each loan robot. He also had Megabot, its controller, and the neurotransmitter along with Microbots with him to school that day. Hiro had had plenty of time since he didn’t have any classes that day. He started going through the forms.

There were 10 submissions. Some of them caught his attention. “Name: Milly, Age: 10, Status: Outsider, Prev. Exp.: None, filling for: Myself, Own bot: No, Other: ‘My big brother goes to bot fights. And I want to too, but he goes to the bad ones, which I don’t like. If he notices that I go to a much, much, cooler place maybe he will come here too.’” That message was so cute, but kind of eerily reversed to how it had been between Tadashi and Hiro.

Then there was this another one. “Name: Jason, Age: 15, Status: Outsider, Prev. Exp.: Little, always lose, filling for: Someone else, Own Bot: No, Other: ‘Filling this for my younger brother who really would like to do bot fighting but lacks in the bot building department. This is the first place to offer loan bots for not absurd costs. So, I’m hoping that this would become a good hobby for him’.”

Then there was the overconfident one. “Name: Big Yama, Age: 19, Status: Student, Prev. Exp.: I’m the best, filling for: Myself, Own Bot: Yes, Other: ‘No one will beat me and if they do, I’m going to beat their sorry asses’.” Hiro chuckled to himself, “Not going to happen, mate, not going to happen.”

Then there was Megan’s entry. “Name: Megan Cruz, Age: 14, Status: Outsider, Prev. Exp.: None, filling for: Myself, Own Bot: No, Other: ‘Hi, Hiro. I’ll come even if it’s to just see you. I might even try once’.” The message got Hiro to fluster a bit.

Then he moved to the next one and almost fell from his seat due to the shock, it was Tadashi’s. “Oh, Tadashi. You don’t even know,” Hiro said to himself smiling widely. The rest of the forms didn’t contain anything eye-catching. And soon it was thirty past four. And Hiro made his way to the auditorium to set things up. He arranged the loan bots onto a table placing his own to the side, hidden from view. He put his neurotransmitter on his head and ordered the bots to form a circle onto the floor and then he placed two pillows on opposite sides of the circle.

He then set up a few cameras filming the arena and connected them to the projector.

Abigail showed up fifteen minutes before things were supposed to kick off. Hiro had already finished the preparations and had dimmed the lights such that there were few spots concentrated on the circle of bots. The rest of the auditorium was dark apart from light strips along the edge of the walking path and stairs. It was designed such that the auditorium could be safely navigated while all lights were off.

There was also a bit of reflected light coming from the projector screen. Hiro had tossed his hoodie in favor of the more sci-fi look of his Kevlar suit. He had also turned on the emissives on it, which turned the cool factor to 11. The metallic neurotransmitter was also glowing on his head.

“Damn, you look cool,” Abigail commented, looking at Hiro’s suit. “Thanks, Abigail,” Hiro said grinning. “So, who is coming tonight?” Abigail asked. “Well, some miscellaneous students, 5 to be exact. All of them say that they have average skills and all of them have their own bots,” Hiro replied.

“Then there are two kids. One whose big brother goes to illegal bot fights and she is hoping that she could turn him around if she participated here. Then another one was filled by a big brother of this boy who wants to but doesn’t have the building skills. And this was the only place that doesn’t charge for loan bots,” Hiro listed off the first bunch.

“Anyone else?” Abigail asked. “Then there is Yama the bully, who promised to beat our asses if he loses,” Hiro chuckled, “Then there is Megan, my girlfriend, she might fight but mostly comes to see me. Then get this, Tadashi of all people.” “Really?” “Yeah, look,” Hiro said holding out his phone screen.

After a few minutes, people started arriving. Megan was the first to arrive. “Wow, Hiro. You look like something from a sci-fi movie,” Megan joked as she walked into the dimly lit room. “Hi, Megan,” Hiro greeted in response and smiled widely. “And you are?” Megan asked turning to Abigail. “I’m Abigail, Professor Callaghan’s daughter, and a bot fighter. Also, Hiro’s friend,” she introduced herself. “It’s nice to meet you, Abigail,” Megan said and headed to sit in the front row. “Just a heads up, Yama will be here, but I’m going to deal with him,” Hiro decided to inform Megan.

Then Milly arrived with his father. “You must be Milly,” Hiro said crouching down to her level. “Yes, I am,” came the excited voice, “You look so cool by the way,” she complimented Hiro’s suit. “And you must be her farther,” Hiro deduced looking at the man. “I am,” he replied. “So, Milly put in her message that her brother goes to illegal bot fights, is it true?” Hiro asked genuinely.

“Yes, it is,” her father sighed. “What a pity,” Hiro agreed, “I used to go to them also until I learned how much my brother truly worried for my safety. That is why I’m here now.” Her father nodded in understanding. “Would you mind if I stay to spectate?” he asked. “Not at all, find a seat,” Hiro said.

After them, Jason arrived being dragged by his brother. “Hello, I’m Jason’s brother and this is Jason,” the one dragging the other introduced. “Why does it look like he doesn’t want to come?” Hiro asked concern visible on his face. “He got discouraged by the last place we went to. He thinks that this place will be the same,” his brother explained, “I’ve seen him browsing the internet for bot fighting places all week.” Hiro nodded understanding the issue. “Hey, Jason. Would you stop and look at me for a moment?” Hiro asked directing his words to the kid trying to get away.

The boy stopped at the gentle words and turned around to face Hiro then he gasped. “You’re Hiro Hamada, the genius kid from high school who got always bullied, right?” He asked. “That could be me,” Hiro replied. “Ah, doesn’t matter. So, there is bot fighting here?” He asked looking into the dimly lit room. “That’s correct,” Hiro confirmed. “Cool,” he commented and walked in. “Will you stay to spectate?” Hiro asked Jason’s brother. “Of course, I will stay,” he replied. Then there were five students.

And then Tadashi arrived right on the mark. “Ah, Tadashi. Wasn’t expecting you to actually show up,” Hiro said when Tadashi got to the door. “Hiro? And Abigail?” he asked totally confused. “What Dashi,” Hiro asked tilting his head slightly. “Why are you here at the door. Isn’t there supposed to be some adult supervising?” Tadashi asked. “Who do you think organized this?” Hiro asked. “You’re joking,” Tadashi said. “I’m not. You just joined your brother’s bot fighting club,” Hiro chuckled. “Did you get permission to do this?” he asked. “Yeah, Professor Callaghan is even coming to spectate,” Hiro answered truthfully. “Speaking of Professor Callaghan, there he comes,” Abigail said looking behind Tadashi. “Aah, Tadashi. I would not have expected you to come here,” he said looking at Tadashi. “And I wasn’t expecting my brother to be organizing it,” Tadashi admitted.

“Well, get in and find a seat. There is still one more person to come,” Hiro said. “Who?” Professor Callaghan asked. “Yama,” Hiro replied casually. “What if he starts bullying someone?” He asked. “No, he won’t. He doesn’t dare to do anything stupid with me around,” Hiro answered with an evil smirk, “You will see.”

Then fashionably five minutes late Yama showed up with overconfidence clearly showing in his appearance. “Is this where the bot fight thing is?” He asked not noticing who he was talking to. “Yes, it is, Big Yama,” Hiro replied. He just showed Hiro to the side and walked in. Hiro closed the door behind himself and walked down the steps to the front of the room. He got to the spotlight and grabbed the microphone from the stand.

“Good evening everyone. My name is Hiro Hamada” He started, “As you know this club is mostly meant as a place to have fun whilst also getting some practical knowledge of robotics on the side. Some of you may be better than others but that is why I’ve asked everyone to submit the form so there won’t be any nasty surprises.”

“Now, while going through the forms there was one which got my interest. The only one who claimed to be the best. So, the first match will be between Me and Big Yama,” Hiro finished and placed the microphone back in its stand. Hiro then walked over to the table and grabbed Megabot and its controller. There was a small wave of applause.

He placed Megabot in the ring and sat on one of the pillows. Big Yama was just frozen in his seat. “Oh, did Big Yama already get nervous?” That snapped him out of it. “No, of course, I’m not,” he replied getting down to the stage and placing his bot in the ring, and sitting down. “Ready to lose, Zero?” Yama asked getting his confidence back.

Hiro didn’t reply instead opting to start the round. Megabot clumsily walked toward Yama’s robot, who quickly sliced the three pieces of Megabot into their separate parts. Yama started cheering and there were a few disappointed frowns in the audience including Megan. “Not so fast, there is a two try policy here. If the fight is extremely one-sided and the opponent’s robot is still operational, then there can be a rematch,” Hiro interrupted, “My robot is still perfectly functional, and I demand a rematch.” Hiro pulled his robot back together. He then started the second round. This time he extended the controller and Yama’s bot was toast in about two minutes, but only because Hiro decided to play cat and mouse with the other bot If he had gone for the kill immediately it would have taken about half a minute.

“You…you hustled me. No one hustles Yama,” Yama was angry. Hiro stood up and Yama did the same. “So, are you going to beat me up like you said you were going to do?” Hiro asked. “I will,” he said forming fists and getting ready to charge.

“Rule one, we don’t like bullies here,” Hiro said and Microbots started moving towards him. Yama got a worried look on his face. There were a few gasps as Hiro’s armor formed around him. “And Rule one point five, bullies here get hugged by me,” Hiro said and puffed up. “So, Hugs?” Hiro asked as innocently as he could muster. He accompanied the words by reaching his arms toward Yama, who started booking it toward the door.

“Bye-bye, Little Yama,” Hiro shouted after him. “How did you get him to run away?” One of the students asked. Hiro was still standing outside of the spotlight, so his appearance was mostly concealed by the shadows. “I guess, my hugs are scary,” Hiro replied. “How could hugs be scary?” he asked totally confused.

“Well, think again,” Hiro said and stepped into the spotlight, now everyone could see his prickly nature. There were a few screams coming from the audience, notably, Milly looked to be terrified. “Thought this might happen,” Hiro sighed, letting the bots crash to the ground and taking off the neurotransmitter.

“Hey, Milly. Everything is alright,” Hiro comforted the terrified girl, walking over to her. “You were scary…and cool,” she said calming down a little. “Thanks, I guess,” Hiro replied not sure whether that was a compliment or not. “You won him so fast,” she said and changed subjects. “Yeah, it happens with my skills quite a lot,” Hiro replied.

“What is your name?” she asked awkwardly. “Oh, my bad. I’m Hiro,” Hiro introduced himself. “Thank you, Hiro, for being nice to me,” she thanked. “That’s who I am,” Hiro replied smiling.

Hiro then returned to the stage and took the microphone. “Now that we have pruned the bad actors. We can get this started for real,” he said. “Abigail, would you take the average skilled fighters?” Hiro asked the girl in question. “Yeah, sure,” she replied and collected the 5 students and headed to the second ring on the stage which Hiro had set up previously.

“Now, everyone who has little to no experience, come to me,” Hiro instructed. Tadashi, Milly, and Megan stood up and walked to where Hiro was sitting. “Jason, you also belong in this group,” Hiro called out. “I don’t want to,” he replied.

“What’s the matter?” Hiro asked when he got to where Jason was sitting. “I don’t want to break your bots,” he said uneasily. “Don’t worry about it. I built them specifically for this,” Hiro replied encouragingly. “I don’t know,” he hesitated. “Come on, it’ll be fun,” Hiro said and walked back to where the other three newbies were waiting. “Come on Jason, show them what you got,” his brother cheered. He then slowly got up and walked over to where the rest of them were.

“Now that we are all here, let’s start with the basics,” Hiro started. “I assume you already know what bot fighting is, right?” He asked. Everyone nodded. “Ok, So the rules. There are two ways to win, either the opponent’s robot is destroyed, or it goes outside of the arena. Distracting the opponent is not allowed. Getting angry over a loss makes you look stupid. And the most important thing is to have fun,” Hiro explained the rules.

He then went over and grabbed one of each type of loan robot and showed how they were controlled and how they could be beaten. After everyone got to try the robots Hiro set up a few practice rounds. Between him and one of the others. First was Milly as she was the most excited.

“Milly, you’re up first,” Hiro said. “Yippee,” she exclaimed happily. “Which one do you want to use?” Hiro asked. “Slither,” she said pointing to the blue snake. “Ok, then I’ll take Mr. Grabby hand,” Hiro said making up the name on the spot. Megan chuckled at the silly name, understanding that Hiro did it only to amuse the girl.

“I’m going to start off slow so that you have a chance,” Hiro said. They then began the fight Hiro intentionally leaving himself vulnerable and taking his time with attacks. He focused more on teaching the girl what to look for in the other bot and its owner. Eventually, Milly managed to knock Hiro’s bot over.

“I won,” she exclaimed happily. “Yes, you did,” Hiro congratulated. “Um, how long would it have lasted if you were going at it for real?” she asked. “Let’s find out,” Hiro suggested. “Okay,” she agreed. To no one’s surprise, it took about 30 seconds for Hiro to get a firm grip on the snake and was ready to cut it in half. “I’d say your bot would be finished,” Hiro remarked. “I guess so,” Milly said in awe of Hiro’s skills.

Jason was next he was to Hiro’s surprise really good. “You really do have some skills,” Hiro pointed out. “But why do I keep losing then?” he asked. “Could be that they keep giving you shitty robots,” Hiro voiced the idea, “I see no reason why you would fail constantly with your skills.” “Really?” “Yeah, you should try with those guys,” Hiro said gesturing toward Abigail’s group.

Next was Megan. “I don’t really want to fight, but I would like to see your bot do something,” she said looking at Hiro. “Ok, Megabot it is then,” Hiro said smiling. “How about you two against me?” Hiro asked pointing at Milly and Jason, “Don’t take the loss personally, and don’t worry about the bots breaking, it’s part of this.” The two nod and ready for battle, which to their credit lasted much longer than Hiro had anticipated. He actually got to put his skills to use. “Damn, why haven’t I tried this before?” Hiro muttered to himself when he had finished both of the robots crushing them to bits.

That left only a single person left, Tadashi. Hiro continued with his teaching style of play. And Tadashi was super awkward the entire time giving occasional glances toward Abigail, who was sitting away from him. After that Hiro went to pit against Abigail’s group with Megabot.

Meanwhile, Milly was fighting with Tadashi, who found himself to be losing. And just when he thought that he could have a chance at winning Milly’s snake bit his robot paralyzing it. There was a gasp in the audience at the sudden takedown. This got Hiro’s attention and when he looked at the confused expressions on each of the fighters' faces and then at the paralyzed bot, he understood what had happened.

He got over to the two and sat next to them. “What just happened,” both of them asked. “Milly just accidentally used snake’s special ability,” Hiro replied. “It has a special ability?” Milly asked excitedly. “Yeah, a paralyzing bite. It scrambles the programming on the opposing robot making it useless. Easy to fix if you have a computer, but the win is guaranteed anyway,” Hiro explained.

“Does this one have anything special?” Tadashi asked looking at his robot. “Sorry, Dashi but I couldn’t think of anything that would fit the theme,” Hiro said apologetically. Then he happened to glance at the clock…9PM. “I think it’s time to call it a day,” Hiro announced to the room and everyone instinctively looked at the clock. Hiro walked over to the remaining bots and took one of the snakes along with him to the door.

Then people started pouring out. First, the five average students thanked Hiro and Abigail for an awesome time. Then Jason came with his brother. “Thank you, Hiro, for this opportunity,” Jason said shaking Hiro’s hand. “It’s my pleasure,” Hiro said. Then they left. Next, it was Milly and her father.

“Thank you, Hiro. That was so much fun,” she exclaimed happily and hugged Hiro, “I will definitely be here next week.” “Thanks, Milly. And this is for you,” he said giving one of the snakes to her. Her eyes grew wide. “Really? For me to keep. For free?” she asked. “Yep,” Hiro replied. “My brother will turn green from envy,” she said. “I’m sure of it. It’s also GPS tracked so when your brother steals it you can find him in the act,” Hiro agreed, “How old is he by the way?”

“Thank you, Hiro, you’re like the big brother I wish I had. He’s 14,” She said and hugged Hiro again. “Thanks, Milly,” Hiro chuckled. “But I have also been to the bad bot fights. And as much as it pains me to say it, but I liked them before,” He confessed with an embarrassed look on his face. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are here now, and not there,” she said matter-of-factly. “Thanks, Milly, and here are the rest of the stuff for your new toy,” Hiro said giving her the controller and a USB-drive with operating and repair instructions as well as the snake's software code, along with a personalized letter for Milly.

“What’s on it?” she asked looking at the USB-drive. “Everything you need to fix or upgrade the bot. Along with instructions on how to track the bot’s GPS signal. There is also my contact information if you need any help with anything. Be it repair or talking sense to your brother. I know how exhilarating it is to win large amounts of money until you get arrested that is. And one last thing, never go to Good luck alley without protection, even if your brother goes there.” Her father was silent at Hiro’s generosity and genuine offer to help someone he just met.

“Thank you, Hiro, but why not go there?” she asked innocently. Hiro crouched down to her height and took her shoulders. “Because in reality is it ‘good luck getting out alive alley’,” Hiro said plainly, “And they don’t like winners there or anyone who defends said winner.” Milly had a worried but understanding expression on her face.

They then left leaving Tadashi, Hiro, Abigail, Megan, and Professor Callaghan in the room. “Well, I have to get going before my dad sends the entire police force out to look for me…again,” Megan sighed looking at Hiro in the eyes. “It was fun seeing you in your element Hiro,” she continued. “Thanks, Megan. See you sometime soon,” Hiro said. “Definitely,” she said, they hugged each other, and then she left.

“So, Dashi, how does it feel, being taught by your little brother?” Hiro asked looking at his brother intently. “Well…I…It’s awkward,” he stammered, getting flustered. “Yeah, I could see that” Hiro chuckled. “And it looks like you have an unofficial little sister now, surrogate brother,” Tadashi teased.

“It would be funny in a different context,” Hiro said and grabbed Tadashi’s hand. “Here’s a taste of my feelings,” he said and tapped to Tadashi and pushed his thoughts over. The worry for both of the young siblings, the eerie similarity to his and Tadashi’s relationship and how it had almost ended twice, his feelings when he realized just how much he mattered to Tadashi. Tadashi grew paler with each passing thought. When Hiro stopped sharing feelings Tadashi was white as a ghost and was breathing heavily.

“I didn’t realize just how much I mean to you. Nor did I see the connection between us and them,” he said quietly. “Yeah, how could you have?” Hiro asked. “By the way. That was intense. Way more emotional than hearing or reading about it,” Tadashi added.

“I have to say, Hiro, you are good at teaching bot fighting,” Professor Callaghan said. “Thanks, professor, it just comes with the flow,” Hiro replied grinning proudly. “And besides, they were good students,” Hiro added and poked Tadashi between his ribs.

“We have to get going before Aunt Cass goes ballistic,” Tadashi said and turned toward the door. “Agreed, see you next week Abigail,” Hiro said. “Likewise,” she answered. Hiro and Tadashi then went home where Aunt Cass was waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the "bot fighting club"-story arc and the beginning of another one (you'll probably guess where it is going, maybe). 
> 
> `public Rant RantAboutYourOwnFic(string thingToRantAbout) {`  
> Seriously, this fic is turning stranger and stranger with each new chapter. 
> 
> When I started this I didn't expect it to grow to 40k words (including unpublished chapters).  
> Neither did I expect this fic to have Megan, Yama, or any OCs in it. The ideas just float in randomly and go to the list of new story arcs to do.  
> And I have an idea for one arc in the future as well.  
> Then there is a Xmas spin-off I fancy writing. Let's see if I'm willing to pause this one to write that.  
> `}`  
> (A programming joke, lol)


	22. A Promise to Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Milly looks at what Hiro had put on that USB-drive. What she finds makes her happy.

“Where on earth have you been?” Aunt Cass asked sternly. “Bot fighting,” Hiro replied nonchalantly. It was clear from Aunt Cass’s expression that she was about to explode. “How about you listen to me first,” Hiro said looking at his aunt, “after that you’re free to explode on us if you’re still willing.” She huffed but didn’t say anything.

“For starters, I went here,” Hiro said and dug up the page on the school website and showing it to Aunt Cass. Her eyes widened and her expression changed to an apologetic one as she kept on reading. “I’m sorry Hiro. I shouldn’t have judged you prematurely. You did say that you would quit illegal bot fights, I just assumed that there were no legal places in which you were interested,” she said. “I could be offended by that and I could run off to my private retreat for a day or two if I wanted to,” Hiro said jokingly, “But I don’t want to,” Hiro added after a pause. The two other Hamadas breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Was Tadashi there as well?” Aunt Cass asked raising an eyebrow at him. “I was. I thought that since Hiro was there, I could come and see what it was about,” Tadashi said. “Yeah, and he was super awkward the whole time,” Hiro said. That got Tadashi to blush a bit. “Why is that?” Aunt Cass asked puzzled. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fact that he was being taught by someone younger than him. Or maybe he has a crush on someone there,” Hiro answered for Tadashi. That later part got a reaction out of Tadashi, who tried to grab his brother, but Hiro already had Microbots ready to grab his arms.

“Oh, who is it?” Aunt Cass asked inquisitively. “If I told you he would mutilate me the moment I let go of him,” Hiro joked squeezing Tadashi’s Microbot bound hands slightly. Tadashi pouted at Hiro; the accusation did hurt him a little. Aunt Cass laughed at Hiro’s comment and Tadashi’s reaction to it.

“Who organized the fight?” Aunt Cass asked, “I’d like to thank him.” Hiro snickered as he heard that. “You’ll thank him enough by making your face-numbing hot wings tomorrow,” Hiro said. Aunt Cass froze for a moment as she processed the implication of those words. “Is…Are you behind it?” Aunt Cass asked looking at Hiro. “Yep, me and Professor Callaghan’s daughter,” Hiro replied.

“So, you were the one teaching Tadashi to bot fight?” she asked. “Yeah, I almost fell from my seat when I was going through the name list of who was going to come,” Hiro laughed at the memory. “And apparently you are something of a big brother to one of your clients,” Tadashi revealed. “What does that mean?” Aunt Cass asked. “Well, this girl, 10. her big brother, 14, goes to illegal bot fights and she doesn’t like that,” Hiro explained, “When I gave one of my robots to him to keep her own. She hugged me and said that I was like the big brother she wished to have.”

Aunt Cass was silent for a moment. “That is so sad,” she finally said. “Yeah, it is. And I fear the day he goes to good luck alley. God help him if he wins. He doesn’t have a Tadashi to save him” Hiro said grimly. “There is only one Tadashi. I’m the Tadashi and there are no others,” Tadashi pouted. Hiro started laughing. “Thanks, Dashi. That was exactly what I was hoping for you to say,” he said laughing. “Come on, let’s go eat and then to our room,” Hiro said pulling Tadashi along.

What did the two brothers do when they got to their room? I’ll leave that up to your imagination. (A/N: Certain subsection of Hiro/Tadashi fanfics may give hints to what my mind is thinking, but that will most definitely stay out of this fic.)

\--- Someplace nearby, a few moments earlier

When Milly and her father got home, their brother was nowhere to be seen. “Typical, he’s gone out again. I’m crossing my fingers that he’ll come back in one piece,” Milly said to her father. “I hope so too my dear,” he responded. Milly then went to put her new possession in her room and decided to look at what Hiro had put on that USB-drive. First, she found a readme file.

“Hi, Milly! This is the least I can do for you. Like I told you before this drive contains everything you need in order to repair and/or modify the bot. Then there are the instructions for the GPS tracker, I suggest you activate it immediately. And finally, there is a password-protected file. The password is my whole name all lowercase no spaces,” the readme read.

She then looked at the GPS instructions. They were easy enough, so she followed them, and quickly she had the location of her bot visible on her phone. She was delighted by the prospect of tracking his brother’s whereabouts without him knowing. “But is it wrong to do so?” she wondered.

Then the password-protected file with mystery content grabbed her attention. She opened the document only to be greeted by a password box as expected. He entered the password and was in. This was a letter to her.

\--- Start of letter

Hi, Milly!

If you are reading this then I trust that you are Milly and no one else.

First, I’m sorry about your brother. I know how much you worry about him. But is there something else going on between you and him, something you don’t like that is? If there is then you can tell me about it.

Second, I know that you want to get your brother to stop the illegal bot fights. And honestly, I want that as well, for your sake that is. I know how it feels to almost lose someone close to you, it’s not a pleasant feeling at all.

That is why I want to help you with bringing your brother back from the darkness (literally, those alleys are dark). So, the first step of the plan is that you reveal to your brother that you are a bot fighter. When he asks where you got that shiny robot from, tell him that you got it from the organizers of the bot fight. Even if he looks disinterested in the robot, I assure you that he is drooling over it, especially if you mention that it has a special ability, but be vague. The trap is now loaded. Now we wait for it to spring.

Step two. Your brother has taken your robot. First, you must tell your father that he did so. Then call me and I’ll be over as quickly as I can. Then we go after him and try to stop him before he gets hurt. After that, we will speak some sense into him. Rinse and repeat until he stops, or…something bad happens.

Note: It is important to catch him in the act, otherwise he won’t listen.

If you are willing to go with this, then text me telling me so. Also, include where you live so we can respond to his trips more quickly. After that share, this letter with your dad. If necessary, call me for support if he’s being stubborn.

PS: If you’re wondering if it’s ok to track your brother without him knowing. It’s fine. Tadashi did it to my hoodies, I only found out recently after certain events, but I don’t mind it anymore, now that I don’t participate in those illegalities. And besides, your tracking your robot, not him.

PPS: I’m also tracking your bot, the more eyes on it the less likely it goes places unnoticed.

If you don’t want to go with this then we shall never bring it up again and we’ll see next Friday.

Phone Number: <Some Phone Number> (A/N: Couldn’t bother coming up with one.)

Best wishes, your huggable brother you wish you had.

\--- End of letter

Milly was in tears when she had finished reading the letter, but these weren’t from sadness, these were tears of joy. She couldn’t even comprehend how someone who barely knew her was willing to do so much for her and her brother. She knew she would go with this no doubts about it. And there was something unpleasant between her and her brother. So, she texted Hiro telling him just that.

After about ten minutes she got a reply. “Cool. Now share my letter with your dad. Call me if you need help. PS: Sorry that it took so long to reply, I had such a fun time that I didn’t notice the message until now. And also sorry for the issues between you two, tell me when you think you’re ready,” Hiro’s message read.

She locked the file and stood up. She then got downstairs to find her dad watching TV and eating popcorn. “Dad?” “Yes, my dear?” “I want to show you something,” she said. “What is it?” Her father asked slightly concerned. “It’s on the computer,” she replied. “Oh,” his father raised an eyebrow but followed her, nonetheless.

“What is it?” Her father asked again looking at her. “It’s something that Hiro gave me on the drive,” she said hesitantly. “Was it inappropriate?” her dad asked. “No, just surprising and he specifically asked me to share it with you,” she replied.

She then turned around and unlocked the file. “Read,” she said. Her father started reading the letter. When he had finished reading the file, he had a confused expression. “How on earth did the boy manage to come up with such a convoluted yet simple plan,” he wondered out loud. “I don’t know, neither do I know why he is so willing to help,” Milly agreed.

“I know you well enough that you’d just run after your brother anyway,” he said sympathetically. “That’s why I’m not stopping you. It’s better that you go with him than going there alone. And he is right about your brother getting hurt,” he said. “Thank you, dad,” Milly exclaimed, “Tomorrow I’m going to set the trap.” Her dad just chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Good night my dear,” he said and headed out of the room.


	23. The Trap and The Broken Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Milly's brother took her bot as expected. Will our heroes be able to stop him in time.

\--- The next morning

Milly had woken earlier than her brother, no doubt because of how late he had been out. In any case, she was sitting on the living room floor strangling a pillow with his robotic snake when his brother made his presence. She glanced at him and continued to wrestle with the pillow. Her brother’s eyes widened when he saw what was going on.

“What are you doing?” he asked demanding an answer. “Strangling this pillow, don’t you see,” she answered innocently. Her brother waved his hands in exasperation, “I can see that, but why and where did you get that bot?”

“I’m imagining that it is a bot I’m having upper hand on,” she said biting the pillow with snake’s metallic fangs. “You only answered one of my questions,” he pushed. “I got it from the owner of the bot fighting place where I went yesterday with dad,” she replied nonchalantly. “Got it? For free?” “Yep.” “No Way!” “Yes, Way!”

“How did you manage to get it?” he asked eyes glistening. “Maybe it was because of how enthusiastic I was about the whole thing,” she shrugged. “How could anything free be any good?” he asked defiantly. “This one’s good. It even has a special ability,” Milly responded confidently.

“Ok, where is this place?” He asked, his interest had peeked. “At that tech school. The building covered in glass,” Milly replied describing the place. “You mean SFIT?” he asked totally confused. “That’s the place, I think I can find it,” Milly confirmed and looked through her phone for the poster and found it. “Here,” she said showing her phone screen. Her brother started reading it curiously. “Wait? Are those Megabots?” he asked looking at the image on the poster. “I think the owner has a bot like that,” Milly said hesitantly.

“So, you were in a bot fight with Hiro Hamada?” he asked confused. “Yeah, I even got to fight against him,” Milly replied. “No way! He is a legend. I wish I could meet him let alone fight him,” he admitted. “You can join in if you want. Every Friday 5PM,” Milly suggested. “Of course, I will,” he replied excitedly. Before Milly could respond their father interrupted and called them to breakfast. Milly forgot his robot onto the floor. After breakfast, she headed to her room and started listening to music, and dozed off.

\--- At the Hamadas

Tadashi and Hiro were both really happy about how last night’s…activities had gone. It had been a little awkward at first, but regardless they were now having a conversation about bot fighting during breakfast. The conversation was so captivating that neither boy noticed Hiro’s phone buzz a notification.

After about fifteen minutes Hiro happened decided to look at the time from his phone and froze when he saw the fifteen-minute old notification. “Shit,” he muttered to himself while he dialed Milly’s number. “Language,” Tadashi reprimanded but Hiro ignored him.

\---

Milly awakened from her sleep by her phone ringing. She looked at the caller ID and froze. The call was from Hiro, she answered. “Hi, Milly. Your bot appears to have gone for a walk fifteen minutes ago,” she heard Hiro say. “Oh, Crap,” she exclaimed jumping out of her bed and running to find her father.

“Jack took my bot and has gone out,” she told her dad. He nodded in understanding and sighed deeply. “Go on then, catch him,” he finally said. “I hope that there is something to catch,” Milly replied, “He left 15 minutes ago.”

\---

Tadashi looked at Hiro with a confused expression. He was about to ask something when Hiro turned around. “Ready for a rescue mission?” He asked. “What?” Tadashi asked. “Milly’s brother has gone out with Milly’s robot. And he’s currently in good luck alley,” Hiro explained. “He has my robot. It is capable of winning. You know what happens to winners,” Hiro continued. “I’m in,” Tadashi said without any hesitation. “Suit up then,” Hiro told him. Then he called over his Microbots which formed his oh-so-familiar Microbot scale.

\---

Milly was waiting by the front door for Hiro to arrive. Then a black mass which two people were riding arrived. It stopped in front of her house and both of them walked off the mass and started approaching the door. Milly was slightly in fear until she recognized something familiar in the shorter of the two.

The shorter one’s purple visor slid up slightly revealing a smile with slight a tooth gap. She recognized that smile, she had seen it on Hiro’s face yesterday. She quickly got out of the house and approached the two with confidence. “Hi, Milly,” Hiro greeted the girl as his purple-tinted visor slid back down. “Hi, Hiro and…” “Tadashi, you met me yesterday,” Tadashi helped out.

“Ready to rescue a brother?” Hiro asked looking Milly in the eyes, not that she could see that through the visor. “Ready as ever,” she replied. “Alright, here comes your protection,” Hiro said Directing some of the Microbots to form a similar protective layer over her as he had. He chose to go with the clear purple visor for her.

Milly looked in confusion as Microbots started moving toward her. Her confusion quickly turned into excitement as she realized what was happening, not a moment too soon as the Microbots climbed up her legs, then her torso, and finally her head. Then as the last piece, a purple clear visor was slotted over her face.

She marveled at her now sleek feeling body. Before he heard Hiro call her over. “Coming,” she said and ran to where the other two were waiting. “Ready for high-speed transit?” Hiro asked. “Yep,” Milly answered, Tadashi gulped. Hiro then took off at high speed, way above the speed limit, Tadashi was screaming in fear and Milly was giggling at Tadashi’s girlish reaction.

They soon got near good luck alley and they decided to walk the rest of the way. When they were about to enter the alley, Hiro sensed something and stopped. He felt around… “Yep, bad guys…and Yama, Great,” he groaned. Tadashi nodded understanding what Hiro had done. Milly just looked confused. “What are you going on about?” she asked. “Not now,” Hiro hushed. “Take this,” he said and gave Milly the matt black visor. “Why?” she asked clearly not understanding. “Time to go incognito,” Hiro said and combed Milly’s long hair with his fingers, the Microbots giving way for his hand.

“Oh, Ok,” she said and put the visor on top of the other one, which then moved out of the way. “Just in case things go crazy, expect to become prickly like me,” Hiro said to Milly. Milly nodded in understanding. They then stepped into the alley. There were about 10 thugs in there shuffling about in the corner.

When they approached some of the thugs turned around and instinctively took a step back at the sight. Hiro then pricklified (A/N: Is that even a word?) himself and Milly. That had the desired effect five of them ran off just at the sight, wise decision as it turned out.

Hiro could now see that the thugs were kicking a small pile on the ground…no not a pile a human…child even. Suddenly he realized that that was Milly’s brother, something ticked in his brain. Now he was angry, furious even. These thugs were going to pay for what they did to him. Hiro sat down cross-legged and then he called up all of his free Microbots. The noise the Microbots were making made the thugs stop what they were doing.

Before they could react, they were already being hoisted up in the air from their necks and quite tightly at that. Then Hiro started the squeeze. The thugs started squirming and hopelessly pulling at their new collars.

\--- Milly’s brother, several minutes before

He had just won the bot fight with his sister’s robot, normally he would have been happy about it, but now things were not looking good for him. He was cornered by angry thugs with no way out. Then they started hitting him.

“Is this how I die? I didn’t even get to see goodbye to my family. And oh god, Milly what have I done to you. I’m really sorry for all of the bad things I have done to you. If I survive, I will never do anything like that to you and I will stop going to these deadly places.” He thought to himself. He then blacked out from a hit to his head.

\--- Back to the present

Milly looked horrified at the scene folding in front of him. Hiro his new friend was strangling the thugs and probably wouldn’t stop before they went limp. Something had gotten into him. She realized that she couldn’t let him kill them. not for her own sake. She wondered how it would impact the boy when he would realize what he had done.

“No! That was not an option,” she thought and ran to where Hiro was. She sat in front of the boy and grabbed his shoulders. She was glad she was also armored with Microbots. “Hey, please. Don’t do it,” she asked shaking his shoulders. No reaction. She then crawled onto his lap and hugged him tightly. She started sobbing from the fear of this boy who was totally consumed by anger. “Please, Hiro. Please don’t do it. Please, let them go, you have already taught them a lesson they will never forget. Please, big brother, I want to see you smile again,” she bawled and after finishing she started sobbing even harder. Burying her visor to Hiro’s shoulder. “Please, big brother, be the big brother you always wanted to be,” she continued her whimpering.

That seemed to do the trick as she heard Microbots crashing to the ground in the direction of the thugs. Then there were rapidly distancing running footsteps. Then she felt the Microbots between her and Hiro retracting their prickles and shimmying out from between them, soon she realized that she was trapped inside a chamber of Microbots. He could also feel Hiro’s sharp breaths, indicative of an incoming wave of sorrow.

Before she could do anything, Hiro burst out into a sob of his own. He was bawling like a small child would after being frightened by something. “Shhh, everything is alright big brother,” She comforted shifting her position such that she could look Hiro in the eyes. She suppressed her sap of surprise as she saw the blue eyes. “Either Hiro didn’t know, didn’t care, or didn’t register that someone was seeing him,” she reasoned and decided that now was not the time for questions, now was the time for comfort and only comfort.

“No, it isn’t, I almost murdered 5 people,” Hiro cried out the Microbots pulsing at the rate of his sobs. “But you didn’t,” she soothed. Wiping away the tears on Hiro’s face. “I would have if you hadn’t stopped me,” Hiro cried as tears showed no sign of stopping. “It’s not your fault big brother. You got consumed by your anger,” she said rubbing circles on Hiro’s back, which was quite difficult considering the tight space they had.

“I’m not worthy enough to be your brother. Why would you even want someone like me as your brother?” Hiro kept on sobbing. “You have everything I miss in my other brother. You are smart, genuine, protective, caring, and respectful. The other one doesn’t have any of those,” she said. Slowly Hiro managed to collect his thoughts to form a comprehensive reply. “Thanks, Milly. And I’m sorry,” Hiro said almost back to normal. “Don’t be,” Milly said and brushed the last of Hiro’s tears from his face. Hiro suddenly became aware of Milly seeing his eyes, but what’s the point of hiding it now anyway. This moment of calm was interrupted by Tadashi clearing his throat.

\--- Meanwhile

Tadashi could only watch what was playing out in front of him. He didn’t dare come close to Hiro while he was in this state. But apparently, Milly did as she got close to Hiro, even touched him, and then to Tadashi’s surprise climbed onto Hiro’s prickly lap and hugged him, clearly not affected by the prickles. She said something to Hiro which caused him to release the thugs who booked their way out. He wondered what she had said.

Then the Microbots started moving again, this time forming the cocoon in which Hiro would seal himself whenever he was miserable. This time however Milly was also inside it. Tadashi had never had that privilege. He got closer new but stopped when he noticed how hard Hiro was sobbing.

It took about five minutes for Hiro to calm down. When it was clear to Tadashi that Hiro would be fine, he remembered why they got here in the first place. He cleared his throat. “It’s all sweet and all to have a heart to heart. But we still have to do what we came here to do,” He said loudly. He could hear a muffled string of colorful expletives coming from Hiro as he stood up and the two “siblings” emerged from the bots. Tadashi noticed that Hiro wasn’t wearing his Microbots. As if Hiro didn’t care that Milly saw him like he was.

They walked over to the unconscious boy. “Thank god he is breathing,” Hiro sighed in relief. He then cut off the boy’s clothes to inspect him for wounds. He didn’t find any, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t have internal injuries. “Tadashi. Call an ambulance,” Hiro ordered. Then he collected his armor and picked the boy up with Microbots making sure not to let any of his body parts move in potentially harmful ways.

They walked back to the main street and waited for the ambulance. Milly was standing next to the stretcher holding her brother’s hand. Hiro was doing the same on the other side of the unconscious boy. Hiro only had the helmet portion of his armor on for obvious reasons. Tadashi had removed his helmet as well. It didn’t take long for the ambulance to arrive. The area of town was a hotspot for muggings so there was usually always an ambulance patrolling the area.

“Is he the patient you called about?” One of the paramedics asked. Hiro recognized him; he was one of the scientists at Krei Tech. “Yes, he is,” Hiro nodded. The other paramedic got the wheeled stretcher from the back of the ambulance and wheeled it over to the boy. Then the two paramedics prepared to lift him to it. “No need,” Hiro interjected and moved him with the Microbots. Hiro then closed his eyes and cut the connection, letting the Microbots fall from his head. After he was certain that his eyes were not blue anymore, he opened them. He smiled sheepishly at the confounded paramedics while he brushed the Microbots from his hair.

“I recognize you,” the male paramedic said looking at Hiro, “You’re the boy who woke Mrs. Callaghan from the coma at Krei Tech.” Hiro nodded. “Yeah, that was me. It must have been quite a shock,” Hiro said laughing lightheartedly. “But now is not the time for small talk. I believe you have work to do,” Hiro changed subjects and pointed to Milly’s unconscious brother.

“Oh, right,” The paramedic chuckled. “How did you find him?” he asked. “We tracked his bot, which he took from his sister,” Hiro said gesturing to Milly who was holding Snake. “So, he went to a bot fight won and got mugged?” he asked for confirmation. “That is most likely if only I had noticed it earlier,” Hiro berated himself. “At least you noticed. I was asleep when you called,” Milly said taking Hiro’s hand. “Thanks, Milly,” Hiro said.

“You could have gotten hurt,” the paramedic said. “No! That’s quite the opposite actually. They are lucky to be alive,” Hiro said looking at the floor, “Microbots can be lethal if it gets to it. And I won’t lie, there would have been casualties if she hadn’t been there to ground me.”

“What got you so worked up?” he asked sympathetically. “It’s complicated. I guess it’s because of how close to the same situation I have been. The only difference being that Tadashi has always come to my rescue,” Hiro answered and swallowed instinctively, “Something just snapped inside of me and I was blinded by my anger.” “That happens sometimes,” he said comfortingly.

While this conversation was taking place, the other paramedic had secured Milly’s brother into the ambulance. And was coming over. “It’s time to go,” she said. “Oh, right” the male paramedic responded and turned around. “Excuse me…Could I come with him and could he come too?” Milly asked shyly gesturing to me.

The paramedics looked at each other and then nodded. “Of course,” the male one said. Milly and Hiro got into the front seat of the ambulance. Before closing the door, Hiro shouted to Tadashi. “Could you clean up my bots?” Hiro shouted. Tadashi nodded and took Hiro’s neurotransmitter from his backpack. “Mind if I use this?” Tadashi asked. Hiro just laughed and shook his head. Then he pulled the door closed and they took off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe it, this chapter was supposed to not contain broken Hiro, and Milly's brother was supposed to end up in a much worse condition.
> 
> I came up with the title before I started writing this chapter.   
> When I came up with it last night I knew that not noticing the situation until it was too late was going to be part of this.  
> The title seems innocuous at first, but with the context of the chapter, it has a negative connotation.   
> (A mousetrap with a broken spring fails to catch the mouse before it's too late and the mouse gets away.)


	24. The Ambulance Ride and A Confused Doctor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ride to the hospital wasn't entirely eventless and a doctor gets confused by Hiro.

“So, Hiro. How long have you known her?” the male paramedic asked. “Err, since yesterday,” Hiro answered. “Only yesterday? Wouldn’t have guessed,” He nodded. “Then how come you are running after her brother even though you had only known about her that short of a time,” He asked with genuine curiosity.

“I used to run off to illegal bot fights as he did now. I have almost gotten mugged multiple times had it not been for Tadashi. I know what happens to those who are not liked,” Hiro sighed. “And recently, I learned just how badly it would break my brother if I died. When Milly joined my bot fighting club, she wrote about her brother in the application form. I felt that I had to help her to my fullest capability,” he continued.

“That is a noble thing to do,” the paramedic nodded, “I suppose there has been a loss of a loved one in your life.” “I lost both of my parents when I was three. Now it is only me, my brother, and my aunt,” Hiro replied. “I’m so sorry,” the paramedic said and took his eyes off the road to look at Hiro, bad mistake.

At exactly the same moment a small child came running from behind the next building over and started crossing the road without looking. “WATCH OUT!” Hiro cried out as he noticed the girl. His eyes turned blue and the ambulance hit full braking. The ambulance stopped right in front of the girl paralyzed by fear. Half a meter more and it would have been a tragedy.

Hiro let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. Milly only now registered what had almost happened and began crying. The paramedic was shaking from the shock he was in but that was understandable. Hiro turned to Milly and began comforting her. “Hey, It’s okay. No one is hurt,” he comforted and hugged the girl. That did the trick and Milly soon calmed down. Hiro then turned to the shocked paramedic.

“You alright?” Hiro asked shaking him a bit. That snapped him out of his trance. “Yeah, but how did we manage to stop so quickly? The ambulance was braking before I even had time to register what you meant,” he asked looking at Hiro’s brown eyes. Hiro hesitated a bit, whether to tell the truth or not. He decided that it would be best to tell.

“That’s because I did it,” Hiro said. “How?” “I can control electronics,” Hiro said and as proof, the ambulance honked its horn accompanied by Hiro’s blue eyes. “Err…What?” “You look as confused as you did when Mrs. Callaghan walked out on you,” Hiro pointed out and chuckled.

“Those eyes. I’ve seen them before. Not on you, but on someone else. I saw something which I shouldn’t have. I still see nightmares about it,” the paramedic said. “Now is not the time for memories. You should visit the Lucky Cat Café tonight between 5 and 7 PM. We can talk there more. Besides Milly is also in need of an explanation for the eyes as well,” Hiro interrupted. “Let’s get our patient in the hospital. If he doesn’t have any injuries, I will look inside his head,” Hiro plotted, “If it is at all similar to how it was with Mrs. Callaghan then it should be easy.”

“Oh, right, the hospital,” the paramedic chuckled and started driving. This time he kept his gaze on the road the whole time. Neither did they say anything. Soon they got to the hospital and Milly’s brother was wheeled in. Milly answered the questions regarding his brother like name, age, parents' contact information, and things like that.

Then the two children were directed to the waiting room, where Milly’s father arrived soon. “Are you alright,” he asked Picking Milly up for a hug. “Yeah, I’m the finest of the three children in here,” she giggled. “How so?” “My blood brother is unconscious and my brother at heart had some emotional issues earlier,” Milly said wiggling free from his dad and snuggling into Hiro.

“Brother at heart? What is that supposed to mean?” her father asked. “It means that he is more like a brother to me than my real brother is,” Milly answered without hesitation. “But you’ve only met him yesterday,” her father pointed out. “And yet he is willing to spend time with me. If there was nothing going on between us do you think he would bother?” Milly retorted. “And you don’t know his track record. It's impressive,” she added. “How impressive?” Her father asked.

Before Milly could respond Hiro grabbed his head in pain. He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed on his head with both hands. Hiro was reliving the event of his parents’ deaths, only this time he was aware of his abilities. It lasted for a few minutes and then it went away as soon as it had started. When Hiro opened his eyes, he had two pairs of concerned eyes on him.

Hiro grunted as he pondered how to say it. “I had a flashback,” he finally said. “About what?” they both asked. “About my parents dying, drunk driver, head-on collision,” Hiro explained. “Why did it come now?” Milly asked. “The close call we had on the way. My instincts kicked in. I guess the same happened way back when,” Hiro said, “But I’ll tell you more about what it means tonight.”

The two took the hint and not soon after they were called in. When they got to the room where Milly’s brother was, a doctor was waiting for them. “He doesn’t have any injuries other than bruising and potentially a concussion. But he seems to have slipped into a coma,” the doctor said apologetically. “Will he wake up?” Milly asked, tears forming in her eyes. “We don’t know,” the doctor answered sympathetically.

“A coma you say,” Hiro confirmed raising an eyebrow. “Yes,” the doctor answered, slightly puzzled by Hiro’s nonchalant posture. “Let’s see,” Hiro said walking past the doctor to the bed and placing his hand on the boy’s head. “What are you doing?” the doctor asked, but Hiro didn’t answer.

Hiro was fishing for the hum, found it, and linked to it. What he felt in there was regret and fear of punishment. Hiro then began sending the wordless messages.

“Hey, Jack. Do you hear me?” “Yes, who are you?” “You’re sister’s friend.” “Milly? Does she care for me?” “More than you would think. She is very distressed by your coma.” “Am I not dead?” “You are not dead. You are laying in a coma on a hospital bed.” “Why are you talking to me?” “I want you to wake up.” “Ok, I will. One last question. How are you talking to me?” “Everything in due time. You may get to know the truth tonight if they let you leave the hospital.” “Ok.” Hiro then cut the connection and waited.

The three observers were all silent until Hiro removed his hand from the boy’s forehead and turned around. “What did you do?” The doctor asked. “It’s a well-guarded secret. One has to witness it first-hand or earn my trust to know about it,” Hiro said mystically, “And unfortunately you’re a second-hand witness.” The doctor frowned at the witty remark but didn’t have time to respond.

The boy beside Hiro began groaning and slowly he opened his eyes and looked around the room. He noticed a totally confused doctor, who’s mouth had dropped open. Then he noticed his father’s equally confused look. Then Milly’s overjoyed look and finally the back of someone who had tousled raven hair and matching colored jumpsuit with purple accents. He couldn’t even get a word out when he was being hugged by Milly.

“Blood brother, you’re alive,” she said. “I’m here, Milly,” he replied. Milly then got off him and hugged Hiro, “Thank you for saving my other brother, brother,” Milly said. “Nah, it was nothing Milly. Child’s play really,” Hiro chuckled.

The doctor finally caught on to what had happened in front of him. “That is the first time I’ve seen anyone wake from a natural coma. Whatever you did clearly made a difference.” Hiro smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. “When can he be released?” Milly asked the doctor.

“If he stays stable, I’d say in a few hours,” the doctor said. Milly nodded in understanding. “I’ve got to get going. Tadashi is probably dying to know how things went,” Hiro said and walked to the door. “And Milly, I’ll call you when our paramedic friend comes. And oh, don’t tell your brother my name,” Hiro finished and winked at Milly who took the hint and nodded. He then left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another coma fix, yay me! Hopefully, this is different enough.
> 
> Next time: Hiro shares his secrets, Milly's brother meets Hiro, and Hiro learns about the possibility of there being others like him.
> 
> (NOT abandoned, focusing on the Christmas spin-off.)


	25. Brothers at Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro reveals his abilities to Milly's family. He also shows Milly just how much her brother cares for her.

Hiro was happy with himself. He managed to save Milly’s brother from being stuck in a hospital room for who knows how long. He had called Tadashi to come and give him a ride. After they got home Tadashi was eager to bombard Hiro with questions. “How did it go?” He asked. “Well, he’s awake, bruised up but otherwise ok,” Hiro answered. “Anything else?” Tadashi asked. “Well, we had a close call during the ambulance ride,” Hiro revealed.

“What kind?” Tadashi asked worriedly. “Our driving paramedic took his eyes off the road at exactly the worst time possible. We almost ran over a girl.” “Almost?” “If it hadn’t been for my instinctive use of my abilities then she would be dead,” Hiro answered. “Oh, Hiro. You’re saving people left right and center,” Tadashi said half-serious half-joking.

“Ha-ha, very funny. I also had a flashback to the accident,” Hiro said punching Tadashi on the arm lightly. Tadashi raised an eyebrow. “I figured out that I used my powers instinctively then as well. To slow down the oncoming car. That might have been the difference between us living and us dead,” Hiro sighed, “The migraine I got back then from suggests it strongly,” Hiro said.

“It’s possible,” Tadashi said, “Does that mean the driver knows?” “Yeah, it does, but only that I get blue eyes and that I control electronics. The wild part is that he has seen the blue eyes on someone else as well. Apparently, what he saw still gives him nightmares.” “That’s quite some news,” Tadashi nodded. “That’s what I thought and that’s why I asked him to come to see me at the café between 5 and 7,” Hiro replied, “Milly will also be there with his family since they deserve to know. Milly is no doubt curious about my eyes and after what I did in the hospital even more so.”

“So, inquiring about others with similar tendencies as well as sharing secrets to close friends,” Tadashi summed up the purpose of the meetup. “Yeah, pretty much,” Hiro agreed. “Come on Dashi. Let’s have some fun before they arrive,” Hiro said and gestured upstairs. “Coming, Little Brother, coming,” Tadashi said and walked after him.

\--- Meanwhile back at the hospital

“Could you give us some private time?” Milly asked the doctor. “Of course,” the doctor replied and hurried out of the room. “Who was that boy?” Milly’s brother asked. “A friend of mine, you’ll meet him tonight,” Milly replied. “Who saved me from those thugs?” “Me, that boy and his brother,” Milly replied.

“You could have gotten hurt,” he commented with a worried tone. “No, quite the opposite. There would have been five dead thugs if I hadn’t been able to calm that boy from his anger. He was blinded by it,” Milly replied. “How did you find me?” “My robot, it was GPS tracked. Unfortunately, neither I nor my friend caught it until fifteen minutes after you had left home,” Milly explained, “If we had noticed it before it was too late, we would have stopped you before you got there.”

“Why did you even go after me?” “Because I care about you. Even if you do terrible things, your still my brother, at least by blood. You’ll have to earn your place in my heart again though, and that will be a struggle for you,” Milly said looking at his brother in the eyes. “What can I do to make it easier?” “Learn from that boy. And take what he says to heart,” she said.

“Am I going to get punished?” “It depends on me and that boy, if we deem that you need one then you get one,” she said mischievously. “What kind of punishment?” he asked worriedly. “It’ll be an unpleasant surprise,” she said giving him an evil grin. She knew that her brother was afraid of any plant with spikes. Be it cacti, a wild rosebush, or any number of other plants. She wondered whether Hiro’s prickles would be suitable for a cruel punishment. He gulped and looked worried.

(A/N: I actually have such a fear. Luckily, we don’t have wild cacti in Finland (my family went to a botanical garden once. One room had cactuses, that’s how I know I don’t like them.) Roses are bad enough. Gardening them is not pleasant.)

After a few minutes, the doctor knocked on the door. “Can I come in?” he asked. “Of course,” Milly replied. The doctor came in and after asking Milly’s brother some questions he headed out again. Soon after he returned with the good news that he could leave.

\---

It was 5:30 PM and Hiro was waiting for his guest with Tadashi. “Are you nervous, Hiro?” Tadashi asked looking at his genius brother, who was shifting his weight from one leg to leg constantly. “Me? Nervous? Never,” Hiro huffed. “Nervous or not, you sit down for a moment,” Tadashi said. Before Hiro could respond their guest arrived.

“Ah, there you are?” Hiro greeted the man and sent a prewritten text message to Milly. The tree quickly joined the group. “Tadashi could you lead the way?” Hiro asked. “Of course, follow me,” he said and gestured for them to follow. Hiro was about to head after Tadashi, but Milly grabbed his hand gesturing to stay behind. He obliged and let the others pass him. Guessing that Milly had something to say so he crouched down to her level.

“What is it Milly?” he asked. “I have a request to make, don’t show your spikes to my brother. He’s afraid of them and I want us to give him a punishment involving them,” she whispered. “Oh,” Hiro replied, and a mischievous grin spread across his face. “I can work with that. Let’s head back before anyone gets suspicious,” Hiro whispered back, and they headed upstairs to their living room.

“Ah, there is the mystery person,” Milly’s brother joked. “Yeah, that’s me,” Hiro replied and gave him a sly smile. “So, who wants to know the answer to their question first?” Hiro asked and looked around at the group of people of different ages. Milly’s brother raised his hand.

“Yes, Jack, your question?” Hiro asked shifting his focus to the boy of the same age. “Who are you?” he asked nervously. “Milly’s friend,” Hiro replied playing dumb. “No, I meant what is your name,” he said blushing a bit. “I’m a bot fighter. Ten points if you can guess my name based on my bot,” Hiro said and smirked.

“Ugh, fine,” he grunted. Hiro could sense that he was a bit annoyed. “Good, since you’re going to have to wait a bit since I’m not about to run up to my room just for that,” Hiro replied and saw the annoyance on Jack’s face deepen. “How long do I have to wait for your laziness?” He huffed.

“It depends, next question,” Hiro replied casually before moving on. Milly raised her hand next. “What is up with your eyes?” She asked. Jack looked at Hiro’s eyes closely trying to see what Milly was talking about. Hiro gasped for dramatic effect. “Is…is there something wrong with them?” Hiro asked with a faked shock.

“Not that I can see,” Jack replied. “But they were blue before,” Milly said looking at Hiro. “Milly, what are you talking about?” Hiro asked turning to face the girl and giving her a wink to play along. “But I saw them myself,” she insisted putting up a show of her own. “If you insist that it happened, can you tell me exactly what was going on?” Hiro questioned.

“You were crying and wrapped in your Microbots,” she said. “Ok. So, it’s either because I was crying or it was because of the Microbots,” Hiro said. “In my opinion, it is highly unlikely to be because of the crying, so it must be the Microbots,” he continued.

“Please tell me already. I'm only a ten-year-old, I can’t hold up the charade as well as you can,” she whined. Hiro sighed. “Fine, since some of you are so impatient, I might as well drop it now. I have absolutely no idea what causes it,” Hiro said. Milly looked a bit shocked and depressed at this revelation.

“But I do know that it is related to my abilities,” Hiro added. That got Jack’s attention. “What do you mean abilities?” he asked. “Do you remember, at the hospital? I was talking to you,” Hiro asked. “I do remember,” he nodded. “How did you do it?” The boy asked dying of curiosity. “Well, it’s almost a side effect of my most potent ability,” Hiro replied.

“Which is?” He asked looking at Hiro intently. “Ever heard of technopathy?” Hiro asked in response. “Yeah, from comics…wait? Are you implying that you are one?” He asked totally blown away by this. “Yes, that is correct,” Hiro nodded. The whole family was stunned. Milly was the first to react.

“So, you were controlling your Microbots with your mind?” she asked. “Yeah, I was,” Hiro replied. “And that must also be why you only used those non-transparent visors, right?” she continued. “Exactly, one can never be too careful,” Hiro nodded and glanced fiercely at everyone present. They all took an instinctive step backward.

“Microbots? Visors? What are you two babbling on about?” Jack asked impatiently. “Hold on just a moment,” Hiro said raising a finger at the interruption. “Since one of you is so impatient today, then I guess that I might as well introduce my Microbots,” Hiro sighed and linked to his Microbots, but there were a whole bunch missing. “Tadashi, did you do something with my Microbots?” Hiro asked sweetly staring at his brother.

“No, I left them exactly where you usually put them,” Tadashi answered. “If that’s the case then where are they. That precise amount is missing,” Hiro stated. “I don’t have any knowledge of them,” Tadashi defended. “Don’t say someone stole them for real,” Hiro groaned in frustration.

“Which means what?” Tadashi asked. “It means that whoever has them could set me up for a crime I haven’t committed,” Hiro explained. “But on whit the show, let’s worry about that later,” Hiro said and called the rest of his Microbots downstairs grabbing Megabot on the way.

The Microbots deposited Megabot behind the couch, out of view. Then they circled around and formed a cube next to Hiro. “These are Microbots,” Hiro said and gestured to the cube. And these are visors. Hiro said and made the Microbots reveal the visors they were carrying inside. “When you combine the two you get something like this,” Hiro said and formed his armor, choosing to go for the purple-tinted visor.

Jack just looked at this in awe. “You’re a superhero,” he commented. “Maybe,” Hiro teased and ordered the Microbots back upstairs. “Why did you decide to become a superhero?” He asked curiously. “It was out of necessity. You’ve no doubt read from the news about the robot. I was one of the ones to stop it,” Hiro said. Jack nodded that he understood.

“What about that flashback you had?” Milly’s father asked. “It just proved to me that I have had these abilities in me since I was a baby, they were just lying dormant until now,” Hiro replied. “I see,” he replied and nodded. “So, is there someone who isn’t satisfied with the answer they got?” Hiro asked.

“You still haven’t told me your name,” Jack pouted. “Oh right,” Hiro said and walked over to where he had stashed Megabot. “Here is my bot,” Hiro said dropping it onto Jack’s lap, who stared at it for whole ten seconds before making a sound. “You’re…You’re Hiro Hamada, the champion of the underground bot fighting,” he said looking at Hiro admiringly.

“Former champion,” Hiro corrected. “I no longer go to those danger-fests,” he added. “They’re not dangerous,” Jack protested. “Says the one, who stole their sister’s bot to go to one, wins, gets beat up, falls into a coma, and has to be rescued by someone they don’t even know,” Hiro countered.

“I-I’m sorry,” Jack stammered. “I shouldn’t have taken Milly’s bot,” he said. “No, that is the exact thing we were hoping that you would do. If you hadn’t then we’d have had no idea of your demise,” Hiro laid out the facts. Jack gulped as he mulled over that fact. Hiro decided that this was the point to head upstairs.

“You two,” Hiro said and pointed at Milly and Jack. “Upstairs, with me. The rest of you wait here,” he said and walked off Milly and Jack behind him. “So, why did you want us here?” the older of the two siblings asked. “I wanted to have a discussion with you about why it is a bad idea to go to illegal bot fights,” Hiro answered and drilled his gaze into Jack’s eyes.

“Why do you care what I do?” Jack asked. “Let me first read you the letter which grabbed my attention,” Hiro said and pulled out the thing Milly had written as her note on the bot fight application. When Hiro had finished reading, Jack had a confused look. “Did you do this for me?” he asked Milly. “Yes, I did,” she replied.

“Next up I’d like to give you a taste of Milly’s feelings about you,” Hiro said. “How?” Jack asked. “I’m going to dive into Milly’s head and I’m taking you with me,” Hiro explained. “Are you up for it, Milly?” he asked. “Yeah, I’m willing to do anything you deem necessary to get him to realize,” Milly nodded. “Ok, give me your hands,” Hiro requested. They did as requested.

“Diving in five…4…3…2…1…now,” Hiro counted down before linking to both and heading into Milly’s mind. “Caring…For both…Resentment…toward her own brother…Happiness…For Having Hiro as her brother…Worry because her brother won’t listen to reason,” Hiro then pulled out.

“Wow! That was a trip,” Jack commented. “And Milly, I didn’t realize just how much you worried about me,” he said and lowered his head in shame. “But tell me, how can I reclaim my position as your brother,” he asked. “For starters, you listen to me and you take any and all of your punishments without whining,” she said. Her brother gulped at the word “punishment” but didn’t say anything.

“Secondly, you will only go to the bot fights Hiro is hosting,” she set the second demand. “Ok, that won’t be a problem. Getting to feel your emotions made me realize just how bad of a brother I have been,” her brother admitted.

“Thirdly, you will find time to help me or him whenever either of us needs your help, even if you had other plans,” she said. “Which means what exactly?” he asked for clarification. “It could be as little as helping me with homework, or it could be superhero work with him,” Milly said and looked at Hiro for approval. Hiro just nodded his head slightly.

“Fourthly, you will respect the boundaries set by others,” Milly said. “Meaning that if someone says ‘no,’ that means ‘no’,” Milly added. “Okay, these objectives are starting to feel more like rules,” her brother commented. “That’s because they are,” Milly retorted, “They are rules, which Hiro follows due to his personality.” “Even the first one?” Jack asked looking at Hiro for a change. “I don’t need to since its job is to keep you from fraying from the other ones,” Hiro replied.

“Okay, are there any more?” Jack asked turning his attention back to Milly. “There are a few more,” she said. “Which are?” Her brother asked. “You will not lie to anyone, unless telling the truth would expose our identities while doing superhero work, or if it’s a question of literal life and death,” Milly said.

“And the final one?” Jack asked looking worried. “You will get your school activities together. I know that you’ve been skipping classes,” Milly said. “If necessary, Hiro might help you if you ask nicely,” she added.

“What if I slip up on one of these?” he asked warily. “Then you will be punished by us, the severity of which is based on how badly you broke the rule, and which rule was broken,” Milly answered. He gulped at the prospect, knowing that he’d probably break a few of them at least at some point.

“And how long do I have to follow these rules?” he asked. “Each of them will encourage one or two positive personality traits, which you are lacking. So, I’m afraid that you’ll be following them for as long as you live with me, and you should follow them even after,” Milly replied.

“What if I don’t want to?” He asked with a hint of defiance. “Three choices. One, you follow them, two, you’ll be punished for not following them, three, Hiro will brainwash you into submission, which might come with some additional content as well,” Milly smirked.

“Additional content?” he asked. “Maybe a few artificially induced phobias. Or maybe urges to say embarrassing things about yourself out loud,” Milly said and gave him an evil grin. He gulped at the prospect of having more phobias and he knew Milly would go for ones that would make his life living hell. And blurting out embarrassing things didn’t sound like a good time either.

He sighed in defeat, knowing that following these rules would be the best for him. “I will follow them to the best of my ability,” he said. “Good,” Milly replied. “And to make sure that you don’t change your mind, we’re going to give you a taste of your punishment,” Milly added. Her brother went pale at the prospect.

Before jack could object, Microbots started moving around forming the armor he had seen Hiro use before, except this time Hiro had a black visor. Jack also saw Microbots form around Milly in a similar fashion. Then he saw Microbots sealing the entrance shut. And just as he thought that was the end of it, he felt Microbots travel up his legs and around his hands.

He tried to move them but found that he was completely restrained. The only thing he could do was move his head from side to side. He saw Hiro and Milly approach him both looked a bit menacing now that he couldn’t see their faces. Then without warning, Hiro stuck the prickles out from both of them.

Jack's eyes widened and he averted his gaze, turned his head away, and desperately struggled against the restraints. Hiro grabbed Jack’s chin and forced him to look at him. “This will be coming at you if you misbehave. Understood?” Hiro asked. Jack just nodded having lost his ability to speak due to his fear.

The prickles then retracted, followed by the Microbots, leaving him and Milly alone along with opening the doorway. “So, what will happen next?” Hiro didn’t respond, instead, he typed a message to Tadashi.

\---

Whatever happens next is just an act.

I’m measuring how much Jack truly cares for Milly. It’s to make their bond stronger since Milly doesn’t feel like his brother truly is hers. In fact, he regards me as a better brother than he is.

If/When Jack comes downstairs, he is probably in shock. From his point of view, I have kidnapped Milly (with the threat of taking her away from him forever).

If Jack mentions a rooftop it’s the one from the last two times, offer to take him there. (Spin some lie about you tracking my location or something.)

Rest assured Milly will be completely safe, I promise you that over my dead body.

Share with the others.

Be sure to act accordingly (Worried, shocked, whatever). Just make sure that the police do not get involved in this.

Your cunning brother.

\---

Hiro got an “OK” reply from Tadashi meaning that he had received the message. Hiro then set his plan to motion. She grabbed Milly around the waist with Microbots without warning, which elicited a panicked cry for help from the surprised girl. “What are you doing?” Jack asked looking worried.

Hiro didn’t answer, instead, he started dragging the struggling girl toward the window. Jack tried to go after them but was bound in place by Microbots. Hiro opened the window. “Jack help me?” Milly pleaded. She was getting scared, not knowing what Hiro was doing. “What are you doing?” Jack asked again.

“I’m taking her from you, forever,” Hiro said without emotion while stepping out of the window. “What will you do to her?” He asked worriedly. “Probably going to drop her from a rooftop,” Hiro said coldly. “You are free to come after me, ask your friends downstairs for help, but no sign of police or she will fall,” Hiro threatened.

Jack could do nothing but watch as Hiro pulled struggling Milly out of the window and they disappeared over the edge, simultaneously the Microbots went after their owner and released Jack, who collapsed to the floor. He questioned whether this was Hiro’s plan all along, but he knew that there wasn’t any time for that right now, so he headed downstairs.

\--- Downstairs, A few minutes earlier

Tadashi’s phone buzzed indicating a received text message, when he had read it, he whistled in something between amusement and confusion. “What is it Tadashi?” Aunt Cass asked. “Hiro is going to have some fun at Milly’s brother’s expense,” Tadashi said. “Read for yourself,” he said and tossed the phone over to her.

“Is he out of his mind?” The paramedic asked. “I don’t think so,” Tadashi answered. “He pulled a similar stunt on me when we had the debacle with the Microbots. He also had the forethought to inform us ahead of time, with quite a lot of information might I add,” Tadashi continued.

“Did it help him when he did it to you?” Milly’s father asked. “I think it did. At least he wasn’t mad at me anymore,” Tadashi answered. “I do admit that it is a bit unorthodox method, but if it helps then I’m in,” Milly’s father said.

\--- Back to present, outside the café

When Hiro had turned the corner, he stopped and turned to look at Milly, who was at the edge of tears. Hiro lifted his visor after making sure that they were alone. “W-what are you going to do to me?” She asked, her voice trembling. “Nothing will happen to you, this is just an act,” Hiro assured her.

“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked. “It means that I will not harm you in any way. Think of this as a movie scene. Even if things look real, they really aren’t,” Hiro soothed. “Why are you doing this?” she asked. “I have my reasons, but believe me. The result will be worth it,” Hiro said.

“What will you do and what do I have to do?” she asked. “How about we head to our location and hopefully we have time for rehearsal,” Hiro said as they took off. Soon they were stationed on the roof. “So, what do we do here?” She asked. “Like I said to him earlier, I’m going to drop you from the roof, but the catch is that you won’t fall to the ground,” Hiro explained.

“How does that work?” she asked. “I will catch you with Microbots,” Hiro answered. “Ready to try it?” Hiro asked looking at the girl. “Yes,” she said. “Ok, so I will be holding you like this,” Hiro said and slowly grabbed Milly with the Microbots and flipped her upside down. He then moved her over the edge of the building.

“See those Microbots below you?” Hiro asked. “Yes” “I will drop you onto them. when we do it for real, I will squeeze your leg slightly to signal it happening,” Hiro said giving her leg a slight squeeze and then dropping her. She dropped gently onto the Microbots. Hiro then moved her around to the other facet of the building and moving to the position where her brother would be at.

“I will lift you back onto the roof behind your brother, who will be here,” Hiro explained, “Your job at that point is to listen and observe his actions. When you have seen enough you may step in and start comforting him,” Hiro explained. “And you?”

“I will act as if I have no heart until you start comforting him,” Hiro explained. “Anything else?” “You’ll be gagged when the real thing is happening. You can remove it after the drop once you’re certain that you can keep quiet,” Hiro said and showed her a piece of cloth.

“Also, once you see him on the roof, start struggling and calling for help through the gag, it will make it more realistic,” Hiro added, “Just act as if your life depended on it, ok?” “Ok,” she nodded. Tadashi soon sent a message informing him that they were almost there. “All right, time for business,” he said, and Milly nodded in agreement.

\--- Downstairs, A few minutes after Hiro left

Jack came down the stairs looking completely shocked. “What happened?” Tadashi asked with a faked look of concern. “H-he k-kidnapped m-my s-sister,” Jack stammered. “WHAT?” Tadashi exclaimed. “Your brother took Milly and left through the window,” Jack clarified. “Why?” Tadashi asked. “He said that he was going to take her from me and that he will probably drop her from a rooftop,” everyone was genuinely shocked by this.

“We have to find him before he does anything to her,” Milly’s father worried. “I might have an idea where this rooftop is,” Tadashi answered. “Really?” Jack perked up. “Yeah, he once almost took his own life that way,” Tadashi sighed.

“What are we waiting for then?” Jack asked and headed for the door. The whole group followed him, once outside Tadashi took the lead. Once they were few blocks out Tadashi sent Hiro a message informing so.

\--- Rooftop, back to present.

Hiro took the piece of cloth and gagged Milly with it, then he lifted her up and over the edge. “Here goes nothing,” he said.

\---

The group rounded the corner and stopped at the sight. Milly was hanging from Microbots over the edge, totally limp. “We still have time,” Jack exclaimed and hurried for the ladder and started climbing it. Meanwhile, Tadashi and the others stayed behind to observe.

\---

It didn’t take Jack long to climb up to the roof. He stood up and got his bearings, he noticed Hiro’s concealed body next to Milly’s upside-down one. “Let her go,” he ordered. “Give me one good reason to do so,” Hiro replied coldly. That was Milly’s cue to start calling for help and thrashing about.

“Quiet or I’ll drop you,” Hiro hissed at her menacingly. She stopped her struggling. and looked pleadingly at her brother. “Let go of her,” Jack ordered again. “If I was a monster I would do so immediately, but I’m not. That is why you have a chance to convince me not to drop her,” Hiro replied monotonously.

“You shouldn’t drop her because I wouldn’t be able to live without her,” he said. “I’ll be the judge of that,” Hiro replied and took hold of Jack’s feet to prevent him from moving. “Sweet dreams, girl,” Hiro said and squeezed Milly’s leg. “Wait! Don’t drop her. Drop me instead,” he offered.

Milly’s eyes widened as he said that, and she shook her head disapprovingly. “Noble. Willingness to sacrifice one’s own life to save someone else is a sign of true love,” Hiro nodded. “But no, not gonna happen,” he added. “Please, I’ll do anything for you,” he said kneeling and lowering his head as a sign of respect.

“You have not convinced me,” Hiro said and Microbots grabbed Jack forcing him to look at Milly. Hiro then Squeezed Milly’s leg once more before dropping her to the Microbot cushion. “Milly!” Jack cried out and reached for the girl. He then collapsed and started sobbing violently.

“Why, why did you kill her?” he asked through the sobs. “You don’t deserve her,” Hiro replied emotionlessly. He deposited Milly, who still had the gag on, behind her brother. “But I’m her brother,” Jack protested. “By blood, yes, but to her, you weren’t the brother she wished to have,” Hiro replied.

“What did I do wrong?” Jack asked in desperation. “How about you ask that from her yourself,” Hiro said and nudged Milly forward with the Microbots. “But you killed her,” Jack reminded.

Milly then walked over to her brother and hugged him from behind. He gasped in surprise, turned around, saw Milly, gasped again, and hugged her back. “Oh, Milly,” he said. Milly mumbled something similar behind the gag, but she didn’t mind.

After a moment of hugging, they let go of each other and Milly took off her gag and gave it to the Microbots which delivered it back to Hiro. “So, would someone explain what just happened?” Jack requested turning to Hiro, who had revealed his head.

“Milly, what do you think the purpose of this was?” Hiro asked the girl. Milly pondered for a moment before answering. “You did this because you wanted to show me how much he cares for me, right?” Milly asked for confirmation of her theory. “Yep, that was the plan and by the looks of it a success at that,” Hiro nodded and gave the two siblings a genuine smile.

“Was she in on this?” Jack asked looking at Hiro and Milly. “For the rooftop part, yes. Otherwise no,” Hiro answered. “So, the struggling in the bedroom was real?” he asked. “Yes, it was, I was pretty scared until Hiro revealed his scheme to me,” Milly replied.

“What about the people downstairs, were they in on this?” he asked. “Yep, I sent Tadashi a text message containing a vague description of what, where, why, and assurance that Milly would be ok,” Hiro replied.

“Tadashi said that you tried to take your own life on this roof. Was that a lie or the truth?” Jack asked. “That was the truth,” Hiro replied. “Speaking of Tadashi, they are probably waiting for us down below,” He added. “Let’s head down then,” Milly said. Before they descended to ground level. Milly turned to her brother.

“You should show you’re caring side more often. This was the first time you have said it out loud,” she said. “And thank you Hiro for showing me that this idiot here does care for me,” she added looking at Hiro. “Thanks, Milly. Call anytime you need help,” Hiro said and winked, Microbots shivered slightly when he did so.

Soon they got back to Tadashi’s group, all of whom wanted to know everything that had happened up there. Milly’s family then left back home, and Hiro, Tadashi, and the paramedic headed back to the café.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hyped to be working on this again. I have so many ideas now that I have spent the last week working on the Christmas special (Linked at the end of the work).
> 
> Next time: Hiro learns of another technopath, but it isn't just good news.


	26. Another Technopath?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro gets the information required to make a plan to save the other technopath.

“So, you’ve seen someone like me before, right?” Hiro asked looking at the scientist. “Yes, back when I worked at Krei Tech,” he nodded. “You said that you saw something you shouldn’t have seen. Care to elaborate?” Hiro asked looking at the man.

“I was walking down a corridor when I saw that a door had been left slightly open. This was odd to me since that door was usually always locked. I looked through the slit between the door and the doorframe,” the scientist said.

“What did you see?” Hiro asked. “Just a warning, this will be heavy,” the scientist said. “Go ahead,” Hiro nodded. “Well, I saw a boy around your age. He was restrained into a chair and had electrodes connected to his head. He also had the blue eyes and by the looks and sound of it, he was in agonizing pain,” the scientist revealed.

“That is just plain wrong,” Hiro exclaimed. “Yes, it is. I couldn’t watch anymore of it and I took my leave. And I haven’t talked about it to anyone until now,” the scientist agreed. “When did this happen?” Hiro asked. “A year ago,” the scientist said hesitantly. “A year? That is a long time to leave a kid to suffer,” Hiro pointed out.

“Yes, it is, and I wish that I could do more,” the scientist sighed. “That’s why I have had so many nightmares about it, his screaming still haunts me,” he added. “Well then, that leaves only a single option,” Hiro said alternating his gaze between Tadashi and the scientist. “Which is?” Tadashi asked warily, but he had a suspicion, and he didn’t like it. “We have to get him out of there,” Hiro said. “The sooner the better,” Hiro added.

“But how are we going to do that?” The scientist asked. “First we have to infiltrate the facility and locate him,” Hiro started. “And how?” The scientist asked. “I will make Krei beg for me to accept a job at Krei Tech,” Hiro replied. “And since it is him who is begging for me to accept, I get to negotiate the contract,” he added and flashed a devilish grin.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Tadashi asked and looked at Hiro worriedly. “The other alternative is that we go in guns blazing and hope that he is where he was back then,” Hiro replied. “And we both know that that will not end well,” he added. “You got me there,” Tadashi nodded.

“Alright. Let’s suppose that you have gotten in. What next?” The scientist asked. “If I get the contract to where I’m in the team that experiments on him. I will assess the situation and act accordingly based on his condition,” Hiro revealed his plan. “That is a convoluted plan,” Tadashi remarked. “What can I say, with a genius brain comes genius-level plans. Of course, they seem convoluted to you normal lot,” Hiro sassed.

“I guess there isn’t much I can do to change your mind,” Tadashi sighed. “That’s right. It’s actually kind of amusing that something like this would happen,” Hiro said after a moment of silence. “What do you mean?” Tadashi asked. “When I was on the way back with Mrs. Callaghan, there was a brief moment where she considered blabbering to Krei about me. Well, it turned into me guilt-tripping her by stating that Krei would kidnap me and do experiments on me against my will,” Hiro said.

“And here we are, discussing that exact thing happening right in front of us,” Hiro added looking at the other two. “You sure are a sly one, young man,” the scientist said. “I hope that I will never have to be on your wrong side,” he added. Hiro just gave him a devilish smile and shrugged his shoulders.

“Anyhow. I think that we now know everything there is to know at the moment,” Hiro said. “I will kick things off tomorrow,” he added. “All right then. I’ll be heading home now. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for him,” the scientist said. The two brothers then shook his hand and bid goodbyes, then he left.

“So, you’re going over to meet Mr. Krei to manipulate him?” Tadashi asked. “Yep, then we wait until he comes to me like a dog,” Hiro chuckled. “I don’t get you sometimes,” Tadashi said. “On some occasions, you are very protective and kind. And in others you are amoral and cunning,” He added. “Yeah, I’m special like that,” Hiro said and gave Tadashi a genuine smile.


	27. Job Request – Playing Dirty? ...Maybe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro makes Krei want to have him as an employee.

\--- Sunday morning

“Are you really going to do this?” Tadashi asked while Hiro was preparing to leave for Krei Tech the next morning. “Yes, I am. Besides, I’m not actually committing to anything,” Hiro answered. “That’s a fair point,” Tadashi nodded, he had to admit that Hiro was right. “Well, I have to go. See you in a bit,” Hiro said and armored up. “Good luck,” Tadashi said before Hiro sped off.

\---

Hiro walked in through the front door of Krei Tech headquarters. The same security officer was stationed at the front desk as there was last time. “Oh, you again. Came to talk to him about something?” He asked. Hiro nodded in confirmation. “All right, you may go. he’s free at the moment,” the officer said. Hiro took off toward the elevator and rode to the top floor.

Hiro marched into Mr. Krei’s office. The man looked up from his computer and a worried expression spread across his face. “What do you want?” He asked and stood up. “Just talking. You haven’t done anything to provoke me…yet” Hiro replied. Krei’s posture relaxed as he processed Hiro’s words. “What do you want to talk about?” He asked.

“Ever heard about technopathy?” Hiro tapped into Krei’s mind before asking that. “N-nothing, other than that it’s sci-fi,” Krei answered with a laugh. “Lies, or did you forget that I cannot be fooled,” Hiro replied coldly. “And you know what might happen when I get impatient,” Hiro added after a short pause.

“Fine, I do know about technopathy. But why do you care?” Krei asked. “I have gotten word that you have been running experiments on someone capable of said abilities. And on a kid no less,” Hiro replied. “How did you hear about it?” Krei asked with a worried expression. “Let’s just say that you should take better care of your employees,” Hiro answered cryptically.

“Even if I was, why would you care?” Krei asked. “Your experiments are literally torture. And that is wrong on so many levels,” Hiro replied, a hint of anger was starting to slip into his voice. Krei sensed this and took a step back. “What can I do to not have to face your wrath?” He asked defensively. “You will hire Hiro Hamada to oversee the whole thing to make sure that the subject is taken good care of during and in between experiments,” Hiro answered. “What do you mean by overseeing?” Krei asked with concern.

“He will be present whenever these experiments are in progress. He will have the power to stop them if he deems that an experiment is causing unnecessary pain to the subject. He will also make sure that the subject has decent living conditions and has access to good quality food. He will also provide the subject with emotional support for the subject to prevent him from going insane,” Hiro listed his own duties. “Any questions?” He asked looking at Krei. (A/N: It must be a pretty weird feeling to speak about oneself in the third person.)

“That is quite a lot of power,” Krei commented. “What if something isn’t to his standards?” he asked. “Then he will politely request things to be changed,” Hiro replied. “And what if they don’t?” Krei asked. “Then I will pay a visit,” Hiro replied. “And trust me, that is the last thing you want,” he added. “And if I don’t hire him?” Krei asked. “That’s your loss. He might be willing to share some of his knowledge with your scientists on certain topics,” Hiro replied.

“Ok, I’ll think about it,” Mr. Krei said. “Good, let’s shake hands for good measure,” Hiro said and the Microbots in his right hand retracted to reveal his glove. When their hands contacted Hiro sent a thought to Krei’s mind: “I have to get Hiro Hamada on my team. He’ll be so valuable asset to the company. I’ll do whatever he requires for him accepts.”

“How do I get in contact with him?” Krei asked as Hiro was about to leave. “He studies at SFIT and lives in the Lucky Cat Café,” Hiro answered before heading out. “I’ll have to start working on the first draft of the job offer,” Krei thought out loud after a moment. Meanwhile, Hiro was on his way home with similar thoughts in mind.

\---

“So, how did it go?” Tadashi asked when Hiro returned home. “Awesome, I set my demands and he promised to consider the hiring,” Hiro replied. “What if he doesn’t go for it?” Tadashi asked. “He will, I know it,” Hiro said and gave him a mischievous smile. “Did you make him think that he has to get you?” Tadashi asked getting a smile of his own. “What did you expect? Of course, I did,” Hiro replied as if it was the most obvious thing ever.


	28. Job Offer – Accepted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro gets a job offer from Mr Krei and eventually accepts it.

\--- Monday, during lunch break

Hiro was having lunch with Tadashi and the nerd crew when he noticed none other than Mr. Krei walking in through the door. He looked around the café and finally spotted Hiro’s characteristic mess of black hair. He then started walking toward the table where Hiro was sitting at. “What is he doing here?” Wasabi wondered out loud. “You’ll find out soon enough,” Hiro replied as he was fishing for something from his backpack.

“Hiro Hamada?” Mr. Krei asked when he got to the table. “Yep, that’s me,” Hiro replied and stood up, they shook hands. “Would you be interested in working for Krei Tech?” He asked. “It depends. What you have to offer?” Hiro asked in response, putting a piece of paper upside down on the table.

“Well, this mystery person requested me to hire you to oversee one of my projects,” he replied. “Oh yeah, that. He told me he did that,” Hiro replied. “So, you already know what you will be doing?” Krei asked. “Yes, I am. Show me the contract draft you no doubt have on you,” Hiro replied. “Sure,” Krei replied and took the piece of paper from his briefcase.

Hiro quickly read over the document. There were a few points he didn’t agree with, like an “All-inclusive NDA (Including illegal activities).” Then he compared it to his own list of requirements, there was only a single one missing, “Access to all information related to the project in question.”

Hiro took a red highlighter and colored the offending clause in the contract and then did the same to his own document in green. “I’m sorry, Mr. Krei, but I cannot accept this offer,” Hiro replied. “What is the problem?” He asked desperately. “First of all, this contract has clauses which would make it illegal,” Hiro replied and lowered his voice. (A/N: Contracts that require one to do or overlook illegal activities are non-enforceable.)

“What?!” Krei asked in shock. “Don’t even try to pretend that you aren’t doing shady business, just ask Professor Callaghan,” Hiro continued. “Anyway, remove the one in red and add the one in green, then I may consider it. Now, I’d like to continue my lunch,” Hiro said and handed the documents back to Mr. Krei. He then sat back down and started eating and not paying any more attention to Mr. Krei.

After Mr. Krei left the nerd gang turned to Hiro. “What was that about?” GoGo asked. “You heard him,” Hiro replied. “Do you know who this mystery person is?” she asked next. “The mystery person is me wearing Microbots,” Hiro replied. “So, you requested Mr. Krei to hire you yourself?” Honey Lemon asked not believing her ears. “Yes, I did,” Hiro nodded.

“What is this project?” Wasabi asked. “Krei is running experiments on another technopath and I’m fairly certain that it is happening against his will,” Hiro whispered. “Oh no,” Honey Lemon exclaimed. “Do you know what kind of experiments?” She asked. “I don’t know exactly, but based on what my informant once saw it was very painful,” Hiro replied quietly.

The group gasped. “How long has it been going on?” GoGo asked. “My source saw this one instance a year ago,” Hiro replied. “A year? That’s a long time to suffer if it is still going on,” Honey Lemon exclaimed. “Do you know what he looks like?” Wasabi asked. “Only that he is a fourteen-year-old boy, like me,” Hiro replied. “Poor guy. Not only kidnapped but then subjected to painful experiments against his will,” Honey Lemon said.

“How did you even learn about this?” GoGo asked. “Well, long story short, I had a run-in with one of the now ex-scientists who witnessed me fix Mrs. Callaghan. Me being a technopath came out due to circumstances outside of my control. He remembered that he had seen eyes like mine earlier as well,” Hiro explained.

“Oh, it looks like I have to leave for classes,” Hiro said and got up. Then the gang bid their goodbyes and Hiro left.

\--- later that day, at home.

Hiro was in his room working on the design for an upgrade to his suit, specifically something which would prevent someone else from intruding his mind. Suddenly he heard Aunt Cass call him downstairs: “Hiro, someone wants to meet you.”

\--- A few minutes earlier

Mr. Krei entered the Lucky Cat Café. When he saw Aunt Cass he blushed. “Hi, how may I help you?” Aunt Cass said; she was blushing as well. “Hi, does Hiro Hamada live here?” Krei asked. “Yes, he does,” Aunt Cass replied. “Is he home?” he asked. “Upstairs,” Aunt Cass replied. “Could you ask him to come down?” Krei asked. “Of course,” Aunt Cass agreed.

\--- Back to the present

Hiro walked down to the café and saw Mr. Krei talking with Aunt Cass. “Ah, Mr. Krei, you wanted to see me?” Hiro asked with that innocent voice of his. “Yes, I wanted to return to what we discussed before,” Krei replied. “Ok. Aunt Cass, private matter,” Hiro replied. And gestured for his aunt to leave. She didn’t move. “Don’t make me,” Hiro glared. She took the hint and left.

“So, back to business,” Hiro said turning to Krei. “Yes, I made those modifications you requested,” he said. “Good,” Hiro said and extended a hand for the document. He read it through and was satisfied with it, nothing stupid in the fine print. “I think I can go with this,” Hiro nodded. “You will,” Krei asked hopefully. “Yes, I'm happy with this contract, so let’s sign it,” Hiro said.

Once the paper was signed, Hiro shook Mr. Krei’s hand and he left. “What was that about?” Aunt Cass asked once Krei had left. “Just this,” Hiro said holding out the employment contract. “What? You must be joking,” Aunt Cass said. “Why would I be?” Hiro replied matter-of-factly. “Why would you do this? What about school?” Aunt Cass asked. “I will take a break from school, it’s not like I can’t study remotely, despite I’m sure that he will appreciate the company,” Hiro replied. “Who?” Aunt Cass asked. “Read on,” Hiro said.

Aunt Cass read the rest of the document and when she had finished, she hugged Hiro. “Oh, Hiro. I’m so proud of you,” she said. “Thanks, Aunt Cass,” Hiro replied pulling away. “What made you so determined to help him?” She asked. “Isn’t it obvious? One, he’s like me, and two, what he is going through is wrong,” Hiro replied.

Hiro headed back to his room to type an email to Professor Callaghan, well not type, you know what I mean.

\---

Hi, Professor Callaghan.

I, as you well know, am the type of person to help those in need. And there is someone who desperately needs that help right now.

Krei Tech has been running experiments on a fourteen-year-old boy (most likely against his will). What worries me the most is that at least on one occasion these experiments have been very painful (insider information). Secondly, he is a technopath like me, which raises the question of why they are experimenting on him, what Krei Tech could possibly get from it?

That is why I have just signed an employment contract with Krei Tech to supervise the project in question to make sure he is treated fairly.

Thus, I won't be able to attend classes for at least a week while I sort the worst problems, but I’m sure that we can come to some sort of solution for remote studying.

I will be starting next Monday, so we have the rest of the week to figure stuff out.

Best regards, Hiro Hamada, your student, superhero, and friend.

\---

The reply came in about ten minutes

\---

Very well, I fully understand the reasoning for why you’re doing this, and I support you every stretch of the way.

We will work the school stuff out, it’s more important that no human is suffering than school is anyway.

Professor Callaghan.

\---

Hiro smiled at the reply and focused his attention back on his design.


	29. Akuma Island Research Facility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro gets a tour of the section he will be working at. There are issues almost immediately.

\--- Time skip, Next Monday, 6 AM

Hiro’s alarm clock rang, and he groggily got up and went to take a shower. Even though he super was not a morning person, he knew that someone needed him and that was enough to get him going.

\--- 7:15 AM

“I still cannot believe that you have a paying job,” Tadashi said with a bewildered expression. “Well, neither do I, but I’m not doing it because of the money,” Hiro replied. “I know you aren’t,” Tadashi said and ruffled Hiro’s hair, which was a mess even though he had just taken a shower earlier that morning. “Hey, stop that,” Hiro protested and fixed the hair away from his face. “I’ve got to get going. See you later,” Hiro said and headed out. Hiro had his suit, which had the anti-mind reading upgrade, and a hoodie. He also had recently designed gloves to go along with the suit, but those were in his backpack, along with Microbots.

\---

Hiro and Mr. Krei had specified in the contract that Krei Tech would provide transportation to and from Akuma Island. Thus, Hiro made his way to Krei Tech headquarters, where he saw the man himself waiting for him by a helicopter.

“Good morning Mr. Hamada,” Krei greeted as Hiro got within hearing distance. “Good morning to you as well, Mr. Krei,” Hiro replied as he climbed into the helicopter, Krei behind him. “I still cannot believe it that you agreed to join us,” Mr. Krei said.

“Likewise, it’s an honor to work with you,” Hiro replied. He said it even though he didn’t actually feel that way. “Here is your ID,” Mr. Krei said and handed over the lanyard with an RFID equipped access card.

“Thanks, Mr. Krei,” Hiro replied and snatched the ID card. It had a picture of him along with his name, and occupation, which read “Overseer – Project Machine Mind.” Hiro then put the lanyard over his head. “Cool name,” he noted. “What is?” Krei asked. “Project Machine Mind,” Hiro recited.

“Oh, really. Usually, people say that it’s a stupid name,” Krei said and gave Hiro a slight smile. “So, what is the project about, other than experimenting on technopaths?” Hiro asked. “Well, the idea was to figure out what they can do,” Krei said. “Only curiosity then huh? No ulterior motive at all. I somehow doubt that” Hiro said.

“That is the truth, I swear,” Krei said. Hiro closed his eyes and tapped to Kreis's mind. “Are you sure?” Hiro asked. “Yes, I'm not lying,” Krei said. Hiro didn’t detect a lie in that, so he decided to take his word. “Fair enough,” Hiro said after disconnecting and opening his eyes.

\---

Hiro and Mr. Krei had just landed and went inside the facility. They both flashed their access cards at the turnstile, which simultaneously did the clocking in for Hiro. “Convenient,” Hiro thought as he went through. Then they headed to the elevator where one of them had to use their card. Downstairs by three floors, where there was a small lobby with a security guard behind a desk.

“Good morning James,” Mr. Krei greeted the security guard. “Good morning, Mr. Krei and Mr. Hamada,” the guard responded and nodded at both of them. “I’m just showing him around the place,” Krei explained. The guard nodded.

They went through the doors across the lobby, once again locked. On the other side, there was a cafeteria of sorts. “This is the cafeteria, where employees eat and hang out during their breaks if they are of the social type that is,” Krei explained.

Hiro wandered over to the serving line to look at the menu for the week. “Do you like it?” Krei asked as he walked over to him. “Yes, as long as it is actually good quality,” Hiro replied. “I guess that we’ll have to see that later,” Krei smiled, “Now let’s keep going.”

“These two rooms are currently free,” Krei replied as they walked over to a small corridor with two doors on one side, one on the other, and one door at the very end. The side with the two doors seemed to be small offices, they had a desk with a Krei Tech computer, a bookcase, a bed, and a shared bathroom between the two. Both of them had small windows facing the corridor. “I’ll take the first one,” Hiro replied. “Ok, they have beds because most of our scientists live here normally,” Krei explained. “Yeah, kinda figured, considering the awkward location,” Hiro retorted.

“And I assume that this is our unfortunate test subject’s ‘room’,” Hiro said with air quotes and turned to face the opposite wall, which had a one-way window into a padded cell. “Yes, that’s him,” Krei nodded. “He seems to be extremely bored,” Hiro noted as he looked at the boy his age curled up in the far corner poking the floor with his finger. “Is-is that a bad thing?” Krei asked.

“Yes, Alistair, it is very much not a good thing,” Hiro replied as if his question had been an insult. “And how long has he lived in this cell,” Hiro asked. “Ever since he got here,” Krei replied. “Which was when,” Hiro asked inquisitively. “Two years,” Krei sighed and winced as Hiro suddenly took a step forward to be right in front of him.

“So, he has been an unwilling prisoner here for two years. And in these conditions, I'm surprised that he hasn’t gone insane yet,” Hiro said sternly. “I’m sensing that this is something that needs to change,” Krei said. “Yes, it does. First, this other room will become his new room. Second, I get him something he likes to do, be it books or something,” Hiro dropped the first of many bombshells.

“But how would that work?” Krei asked. “Why wouldn’t it? These doors only open with these cards,” Hiro pointed out. “Only difference is that he will have more humane living conditions,” he added. Krei sighed. “Fine,” he said. “Good, I will see to it once our tour is over,” Hiro replied.

“Then the next thing. What and where does he eat?” Hiro asked. “Same food as the employees do, but he eats in his room,” Krei replied. “Well, that is changing,” Hiro replied, “He will be eating in the cafeteria with everyone else.” “What if he tries to escape?” Krei asked. “Even if he tries, he won’t get far. Besides, he will be accompanied by me or another scientist who I will appoint for the days I’m not here,” Hiro reassured him.

“I guess that works. Anything else?” Krei nodded. “Nothing right now, let’s continue the tour,” Hiro said. They then headed to the door at the end of the corridor. “This is the experiment room,” Krei said as they entered. “How on earth did that scientist happen to accidentally see this room?” Hiro pondered. In the room, there was a chair and a table with an EEG-monitor on it. This Hiro could tolerate if it stayed as only passive observation.

“I’m at loss for words,” Hiro said as he inspected the small room. He found a few things of concern, an ECT-device, and a set of restraints for the chair. “Is there something wrong?” Krei asked worriedly. “I’m not sure yet, potentially very,” Hiro replied. “Who here is in charge of the tests? I’d like to meet said person,” He requested.

“Let’s go and find him. She’s probably in her office,” Krei said and they headed toward another corridor on the exact opposite side of the cafeteria from where they were currently. Krei knocked on one of the doors, which had a nameplate, Dr. Peterson.

A woman in her twenties opened the door. “Ah, Mr. Krei what brings you here?” She asked. “Our new employee wanted to meet the person in charge of the tests,” Krei replied. “Oh, we have a new employee?” she asked, then she noticed Hiro. “Are…Are you the new employee?” she asked. “Yep,” Hiro replied and smiled genuinely. “But you’re just a kid,” she exclaimed. “A kid, maybe. In SFIT, definitely,” Hiro replied a bit of smugness in his voice as he flashed his SFIT ID.

She got a look of admiration on her face. Her eyes then transitioned to Hiro’s Krei Tech ID. “Hamada, where have I heard that name before?” She scrunched her eyebrows as she thought for a bit. “Are you related to Tadashi Hamada?” she finally asked. “Yes, he’s my brother,” Hiro replied. “That explains that” she nodded.

“So, you’re the one who is in charge of the testing here?” Hiro asked. “Yes, I am,” The woman said as she was snapped from her thoughts. “Why did you want to meet me?” she asked. “I just wanted to ask when the next test is scheduled to start,” Hiro replied. “In fifteen minutes,” she replied as she looked at her clock.

“But what is your job here anyway?” she asked. “I’m here to make sure that things stay ethical,” Hiro replied. “What does that mean. Since when has Krei Tech cared about ethicality?” “Ever since his mysterious friend learned about this whole deal and paid me a visit last week. Don’t ask,” Krei explained.

She then looked Hiro over once more trying to figure something to say about his appearance. “What are you looking at? Is there something wrong with my clothing?” Hiro asked playfully. “N-no, I was just trying to decipher what material your pants were made out of,” she said. “The outer layer is Kevlar,” Hiro replied. “Really, can I feel it?” She asked almost pleaded.

“Yes, but not down there,” Hiro replied and dropped his backpack to the side. “Do you have a shirt as well?” She asked. Hiro didn’t bother to respond as he took off his hoodie. Both Krei looked stunned and Dr. Peterson whistled in surprise. “Where did you get something so cool,” she asked and touched the arm of Hiro’s suit. “Made it myself, and it gets better,” Hiro replied and pressed a button on the left wrist of his suit. This activated the emissives.

“And it glows,” she gasped. “Yep, pretty nerdy, right?” Hiro nodded and turned the glow off. “So, which one is you’re office?” she asked, changing subjects. “The first one over there,” Hiro said and pointed across the cafeteria.

“But they are tiny and opposite of the subject’s room,” she exclaimed. “I’m also tiny, and I will not stay nights there,” Hiro replied. “And I don’t mind being there, since he is my area of responsibility anyway,” he added. “What do you mean by that?” she asked.

“I mean that I will be the one making decisions around his wellbeing. Everything from living conditions, to testing methodology,” Hiro answered. “So, in a sense, everything concerning him goes through me,” Hiro summarized.

“Does that mean that you have the power to stop a test mid-way through?” she asked. “Yes, I do have the ability to do that at my discretion,” Hiro nodded. “And just so you know, I won’t hesitate to use it,” Hiro replied.

“Isn’t the test supposed to start in five?” Hiro asked as he looked at his own clock. “Yes, it is,” she said. Hiro put his hoodie back on and took his backpack, and the two of them took off to the other side. “Your helicopter will be waiting for you by 5 PM,” Krei said after them. Hiro raised his hand as a sign of having heard and understood, Krei then headed out.


	30. New Testing Methodology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro observes one of the test runs. Let's just say that it's stupidly broken.

Hiro and Dr. Peterson walked over to the other side of the cafeteria, where there were already two scientists in the experiment room. Hiro dropped his backpack in his room on the way. They stopped in front of the cell. Hiro was watching for the boy’s reaction from the window as Dr. Peterson opened the cell door. The boy looked up and Hiro could see him tighten into a ball. It was clear that he was very scared of what would follow.

“All right Ben, it’s time,” Dr. Peterson said. “Already?” The boy asked, his voice trembling in fear. “Yes, it wouldn’t be as bad if you just followed orders,” she said sympathetically. The boy reluctantly stood up and walked to the door. When he got out, he noticed Hiro watching him.

“Are you new here?” he asked. Hiro didn’t respond but gave a slight nod accompanied by a smile. “Please, make them stop,” he pleaded. “I wish I could, but my hands are tied,” Hiro lied and gave a fake apologetic smile. The boy then turned toward the experiment room and Dr. Peterson ad Hiro followed after.

Ben sat on the chair in the room and the two scientists hooked the EEG-monitor onto his head. Hiro sat silently on a chair close by, observing. Dr. Peterson picked up a light LED smart bulb from the table and held it in front of Ben. She turned it on. “Ben, can you turn this off for me?” She requested innocently enough.

“I can’t,” Ben replied. “You say that every time, is it really that you can’t, or is it that you won’t?” Dr. Peterson asked him. “I can’t, I really cannot do it,” he repeated. Hiro could sense that he spoke the truth. “How many times do we have to go through this?” She asked. Hiro could sense that she really didn’t want to be doing this.

Hiro decided that now was a good time to step in. “In case you were thinking of using that, then don’t. Because I’m not allowing it,” Hiro said pointing to the ECT-device. “Ben had a combined expression of shock and relief, Dr. Peterson had a look of relief, and the two other scientists had a look of shock on their faces.”

“Who are you to say that?” One of the two scientists asked. “I am the overseer here. My role is to make sure that he does not experience unnecessary pain,” Hiro replied. “What are we going to do then?” Dr. Peterson asked. “First thing is that there are too many eyes here,” Hiro replied.

“What do you mean too many eyes?” One of the other scientists asked. “It means you two. When one has learned to avoid showing them at all costs. It gets harder to do the more there are observers, isn’t it so Ben?” Hiro directed the question to the boy.

“Yeah, it’s way easier when I’m alone,” Ben nodded. “That seals it then, you two out,” Hiro said and pointed at the two. They left muttering insults and something about respect and whatnot.

“Now that that’s out of the way. We can get properly started,” Hiro replied. “Properly started?” Dr. Peterson asked raising an eyebrow. “Yes, I think that we need to start this whole testing thing from a clean slate since the previous model was obviously not working,” Hiro clarified.

“So, the first question, are you a technopath? Answer honestly,” Hiro asked with a warm and genuine smile. “Am I a what?” Ben asked in response. “Can you control electronic devices with your mind?” Hiro asked. “No, that’s sci-fi,” Ben replied totally shocked. Hiro then fixed his gaze on Dr. Peterson. “How can you be sure that he is a technopath?” Hiro asked.

“He was seen with blue eyes and while he was walking every light bulb burst along the way,” she responded. “Ok, he is a technopath, though he might not realize it,” Hiro nodded turning once again to Ben. “Do you remember ever storming out of somewhere super angry?” Hiro asked.

“Yeah, once I had a fight with my mom and I was furious and stormed out,” he replied. “Was this just before you got kidnapped?” Hiro asked. “Yes, it was, literally the previous day,” he replied.

“So, this is interesting. You have been experimented on or more like tortured to figure out something about you that you don’t even know yourself,” Hiro concluded. “Are you saying that I could turn that light off if I knew how?” Ben asked not sure whether to believe. “Certainly, you just have to learn how to do it,” Hiro reassured him. “How about we take the rest of the day off, and start learning tomorrow?” Hiro suggested.

“Really?” Ben asked not believing his ears. “Yep, back to your cell,” Hiro ushered him and opened the door to let him out. After he had returned to his cell Hiro let the door close and he turned to Dr. Peterson, who was watching him. “Is there something wrong,” Hiro asked. “No, I was just wondering about your knowledge of technopaths,” she said.

“The thing is, he’s not the only technopath in here,” Hiro replied. “Do you mean that one of us is one too?” She asked, “And how would you know that?” Hiro found her lack of deduction skills amusing. It took a few moments of silence before her jaw dropped. “Oh, you,” she finally said. “There we go,” Hiro said.

“Can you turn off this light then?” She asked. “Sure, easy,” Hiro said and felt for the lamp. He didn’t find it, in fact, he only detected a single very powerful source, which was masking everything else, except his Microbots and his phone, to which he had a physical connection.

“Or it would be if there wasn’t so much interference. It’s as if there is a wireless jammer nearby,” Hiro said. “So, you can’t turn it off?” she asked disappointedly. “Give it to me,” Hiro replied and took the lamp from her. He felt around again, now he could feel the lamp. He connected and turned it off.

“See, I did turn it off, I just have to be in contact with it,” Hiro replied. “How long have you used your abilities?” she asked. “Since the fire at SFIT,” Hiro replied. “That was the first second time I used them subconsciously. The following night my brother witnessed me using them subconsciously. I got intrigued and investigated,” Hiro explained.

“Why don’t we just run the tests with you then?” she asked. “Because that is his job, and my job is to make sure that it happens ethically,” Hiro replied. “But it’d be easier,” she pleaded. “No is no. Either we drop that idea, or I will literally make you forget it,” Hiro said raising his voice slightly. “And yes, I can do that,” Hiro added.

“Ok, I get it,” she said. “Now I have to get our student’s new room set up,” Hiro said and walked to the door. “New room?” she asked. “Yes, no way is he living another day in that cell,” Hiro replied. “Where will he go?” she asked. “To the room next to mine,” Hiro replied.

“What of the cell?” She asked next. “It will stay, who knows when it will be needed,” Hiro replied and opened the door. “You coming?” Hiro asked. “Yeah,” she said and walked out after Hiro.


	31. Better Living Conditions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro's first Day - Big Changes on the Horizon.

Hiro entered the first room to his right. He sat on the chair in front of the computer and turned it on. First, he downloaded a few utility and productivity programs, which he thought could be of interest to the boy. When he was done, he disabled internet access from it just in case.

When Hiro was satisfied with the computer, he turned his focus to the rest of the room. Very bland, he would have to ask Ben what he liked. As he couldn’t do anything else in there at the moment, he decided to make his exit and walked out of the small room.

Hiro looked at Ben through the mirrored glass. He was miserable in there, bored out of his mind no doubt. Hiro decided to head to the cafeteria to look for something to give to him. He soon found the day’s newspaper and decided that it would be better than anything. And besides, it doesn’t hurt him to know what happens around him, even if he is imprisoned.

He then walked back over to the cell, swiped the door open, and stepped inside. The boy looked surprised and then delighted as he noticed who walked in. Hiro walked over to the corner where Ben was sitting and sat next to him.

“Thank you, Mr. Hamada, for stepping in there,” Ben said gratefully. “That is literally why I’m here,” Hiro replied. “And please call me Hiro,” he added and gave him a warm smile. “I wasn’t expecting you to come in here, no one ever does,” Ben admitted. “Yeah, I figured that you were bored,” Hiro nodded.

“How did you even get a position like yours. I’ve been here for two years and no one has ever cared for my wellbeing,” Ben said. “I used my alter ego to convince Mr. Krei to hire me to this position,” Hiro said. “You have an alter ego?” Ben asked awestruck. “Yes, I do,” Hiro confirmed. “That’s cool,” he replied.

“What did you like to do in your free time?” Hiro asked. “Read books and play board games with my brother. I also liked to go to bot fights,” Ben replied, “I wish that I could still go to them or do anything I like, but no. I just rot away in this cell.” “Any particular favorites?” Hiro asked. “Monopoly and robotics books,” he replied.

“I’m also a bot fighter” Hiro revealed. “Really?” he asked. “Yep, and I even host a club,” Hiro confirmed. “Here, take this,” Hiro said and handed Ben the newspaper. “Why?” he asked confusedly. “To read obviously. It’s something for you to do while waiting for lunch,” Hiro said. “Thank you, Hiro. It really means a lot to me that you care,” he said. “It’s my pleasure. See you at lunch Ben,” Hiro said and headed out.

Now that the immediate problems were sorted Hiro turned his attention to the interference. He entered the experiment room and felt around for the source. He located it to be a small device hidden under the chair. He connected to it and turned it off, suddenly he could feel everything normally. He took the device in order to study its mechanism, maybe he could incorporate it into his defenses.

Hiro then retreated to his own room to do some school work on the computer and soon it was lunchtime. Hiro headed out and noticed that Ben was reading the newspaper very contently. He supposed that living two years in total boredom lead to even a newspaper being super interesting.

Hiro knocked on the cell door before opening the door. Ben looked up from the newspaper. “Is it lunchtime already?” he asked. “Yes, it is. Has the newspaper been interesting?” Hiro asked. “You bet. Time has not gone this fast in the last two years,” Ben replied. Then he noticed something. “Where is my lunch?” he asked.

“Do you really expect me to bring it to you? Nah, you have to get it yourself,” Hiro replied cheekily. “Do I get to pick what I have?” Ben asked not believing his ears. “Of course, you do,” Hiro replied. “What are you waiting for?” Hiro asked after a few seconds of silence.

“It’s just that I cannot believe that things are looking so much better for me since you showed up,” Ben replied gratefully. “It’s why I’m here,” Hiro replied. Ben then stood up and walked over to the door where Hiro was waiting.

Hiro started heading toward the cafeteria, Ben following close behind. Hiro led them to the serving line. Hiro went first and filled his plate, some salad, and lasagna. And a glass of water on the side.

“This reminds me of school,” Ben said as he was filling his own plate. “Yes, it does,” Hiro agreed. He was waiting for Ben to finish. Ben then started heading toward his cell with the tray. “Where do you think you're going?” Hiro asked.

“To my room?” Ben turned to look at Hiro in confusion. “Nah, you’re not eating there. You’re going to eat with me here,” Hiro replied. “Really?” He asked not quite sure what to make of it. “I wouldn’t say so if I didn’t mean it,” Hiro reassured him.

He then looked he looked toward the four rectangular tables there. Around one there were four scientists talking among each other, two of whom Hiro had ordered out earlier. Then there was another table around which Dr. Peterson was sitting by himself, she had a sad expression on her face. The two other tables were empty. Hiro got a grin on his face and headed toward the table where Dr. Peterson was sitting at.

“Why the sadness?” Hiro asked as he sat opposite her. She looked up from her plate and noticed the two teens. “What is he doing here?” She asked looking at Ben. “He’s eating,” Hiro replied as if it was obvious. “But isn’t he supposed to eat in his room?” she asked. “Nope, he will eat here from now on,” Hiro replied. “And you still didn’t answer my question,” Hiro added.

“It’s just that I’m ashamed of how he has been treated here,” she replied looking up at Ben. “I really didn’t want to subject you to all of this, but I had no power to say no to Krei’s demands,” she continued. “I don’t know if I can trust what you are saying,” Ben said.

“That is understandable. I just hope that I can prove that to you somehow,” she said. “He will be able to prove it to himself. No matter what you say will never make him change his mind, it’s what you think that will,” Hiro replied and looked at her. “What do you mean?” Both of them asked. “You will learn soon enough,” Hiro replied cryptically.

They dined in silence, Ben was the first to finish, so he stood up and left back to his room. When he was outside his earshot Hiro turned to Dr. Peterson. “I really hope that you were telling the truth, for your sake,” Hiro said.

“No, I was telling the truth. I really feel terrible for what I have done,” she said. Hiro could tell from her regretful look that she was telling the truth. “If that is the case, then you’re willing to go above and beyond to help me,” Hiro said.

“Of course, what do you need me to do?” She asked eagerly. “You will accompany him on his meals when I’m not available. Meaning that you will get him from his room and spend time with him during said times,” Hiro presented his first request.

“I can do that, anything else?” she agreed. “We need to get him an access card like we all have. For now, it won’t have access to anything other than to get into the room next to mine,” Hiro said. “What’s the point then?” She asked. “It’ll raise his self-esteem,” Hiro replied. “I’ll get on it right away,” she said. “Good, hand it over to me when you have it,” Hiro said. “Will do,” she agreed.

Hiro then left to check on how Ben was doing. He knocked on the door and stepped in. “So, how was lunch?” Hiro asked. “Best lunch I’ve had in the last two years,” Ben replied happily. “Do I really get to eat there regularly?” he asked. “Yep, you won’t be eating here ever again, unless…,” Hiro trailed off as he didn’t want to think of it.

“Unless what?” He asked warily. “Unless you misbehave,” Hiro sighed. Ben immediately hesitated his next words. “Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble,” Hiro quickly added as he noticed the reaction. Ben let out a deep breath which he had been holding.

“I…I’m not going to do anything,” he finally said. “I know you won’t. I was just telling you it just so you know,” Hiro replied. “Oh, I see,” he nodded. “Would you tell me how you found out about me?” he then asked.

“It’s a long story,” Hiro said and walked over to where Ben was sitting on the floor, Hiro sat next to him. “Please tell me,” he requested. Hiro then spent quite a bit of time going over how he learned about him, though he left out the fact of being a technopath.

When Hiro looked at his clock, he realized that they had been talking about this subject for two hours. So, he politely told Ben that he had to do some school work and he exited. He looked for a moment at how Ben was looking so depressed being all alone again.

He shook the feeling of remorse of leaving him alone again from his head. And he entered his room to work on school things, but he just couldn’t concentrate, his thoughts were constantly running back to Ben’s depressed look.

After an hour of useless attempts to focus on the school assignment, he gave up. Something had to change. He suddenly had an idea. While he wasn’t willing to reveal just yet that Ben would have a new room, nothing prevented him from having Ben stay over in his room.

So, he stood up and walked out and over to the cell door. He knocked and opened the door. Ben’s expression instantly changed when he saw who was at the door. Before he could say anything. Hiro started. “I’m sorry that I left you alone so suddenly,” Hiro apologized. “It’s okay, I’ve gotten used to it,” he replied. “Would you follow me for a moment?” Hiro asked with a warm smile.

“Why?” He asked and tried to guess where Hiro was going with this. “Just follow, you’ll like it, I promise,” Hiro replied cryptically. “Okay, if you say so,” Ben agreed, stood up, and walked over to Hiro.

Hiro then walked over to his room and opened the door. “In here,” He said and ushered him in and following behind. “What room is this?” Ben asked. “This is my room,” Hiro replied.

Ben took in the room. He looked over at the desk and noticed the book on it. “SFIT Robotics 101,” he read out loud. “Yeah, what about it?” Hiro asked absentmindedly. “I mean why do you have a college textbook?” He clarified. “Oh,” Hiro said and facepalmed. He felt like a moron for not figuring it out.

“Well,” Hiro replied and took his other lanyard from his backpack. “Seriously? You’re in college at fourteen?” Ben exclaimed. “Yeah, I am,” Hiro replied. “What do you study?” he asked. “Robotics,” Hiro replied. “That’s cool. What have you invented?” He asked. “Everything in time, now if you don’t mind, I have to work,” Hiro said and turned to his assignment.

This time Hiro was able to concentrate on what he was doing, knowing that Ben was happy made it so much easier. It was wonderful that Ben was content with being in the same room with Hiro. And before either boy knew it, it was time for dinner.

\---

Dinner went like lunch without a hitch. Hiro and Ben were in Hiro’s room. Hiro was packing his things in his backpack; it was a lot lighter now that he had removed the Microbots from there. He had stashed them under his bed earlier on in the day. Ben was just watching him pack. Hiro was soon finished, and he turned to Ben. “I’m really sorry, but you have to go back to your cell now as I have to leave for the day,” Hiro said and smiled apologetically.

“Oh, ok. When will you be back?” he asked. “Tomorrow morning at 8 AM. Your day will start when I arrive,” Hiro replied. “Sounds good,” he nodded. Hiro then walked over to his door and opened it and waited for Ben to follow.

“I wish that I had a room like this,” Ben said as he walked out. “Yeah, unfortunately, that’s not possible,” Hiro apologized. He hated to lie to Ben’s face like that, but it’d be better if it is a total surprise when the room is kitted out.

“You’ll make it through this, I know it,” Hiro said and hugged Ben. “With your help, I will,” he agreed. “Well, see you tomorrow,” Hiro said. “Likewise,” Ben nodded as the door between them closed. Hiro took a deep sigh and headed out where a chopper was waiting for him.

\---

“So, how was your first day?” Aunt Cass asked when Hiro walked into the café. “Fine, I guess. Some good and some bad,” Hiro replied and walked past her toward his and Tadashi’s room.

“How was he?” Tadashi asked as Hiro popped his head to their shared room. “It’s a wonder that he hasn’t gone insane,” Hiro replied. “That bad?” Tadashi asked. “Let me ask you a question, how would you fare if you had to live in a padded cell for two years, with nothing to do and no one to talk to?” Hiro asked. “Probably not well,” Tadashi admitted.

“And on top of that, you’re asked to do things which you don’t even know you can do. And when you say that you can’t do it, they don’t believe you and punishing you, rinse and repeat for two years,” Hiro vented his pent-up frustration.

“It’s a good thing that you stepped in then,” Tadashi said. “Totally,” Hiro agreed as he walked over to his bookshelf and started picking out robotics-related books from it, he also took a few of his old high school books on various subjects from there. Hiro packed the books along with Megabot into his backpack, ready for tomorrow. “Oh, and gummy bears can’t forget those,” Hiro thought as he stuffed a few bags of them in there.

Hiro also packed some other random inventions of his along with the other stuff. “What are you packing?” Tadashi asked. “Just some things for him to try. We have to start from the basics,” Hiro replied and looked up from his backpack. “Oh,” Tadashi said. “Yeah, he didn’t even know that he is a technopath,” Hiro replied.

They then fell to silence for a while. Then Hiro’s phone rang, it was Megan. Hiro answered using his abilities.

“Hi, Megan,” Hiro greeted. “Thank god you’re alright,” Megan sighed in relief. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Hiro asked. “I tried calling you earlier, but the call wouldn’t connect,” Megan explained. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was underground, up until 5 PM. I would have answered if I had received the call,” Hiro replied.

“Why were you underground for that long?” she asked. “I was working,” Hiro said. “On what?” she inquired. “I’m working for Krei Tech around one of their endeavors,” Hiro explained. “Why would you even want to work for them and how did you get in?” She asked intently.

“If I told you the whole truth you wouldn’t be able to sleep, but let’s just say that it concerns the wellbeing of another individual. As for how I got in. I may or may not have manipulated Krei into hiring me, on my terms that is,” Hiro enlightened her.

“You sure are one sneaky individual,” Megan chuckled. “Thanks, did you know that Krei has a fear for spiky objects?” Hiro asked. “No, how do you know?” she asked surprised. “I may have shown him my spiky side on one occasion. He totally shrank in on himself,” Hiro chuckled.

“Well, see you on Friday?” Megan asked. “Definitely,” Hiro agreed. They then bid their goodbyes and Hiro hung up the call.


	32. The First Lesson and A New Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben's first day of "technopath school". Hiro also shows Ben his new room.

\--- Tuesday

It was 7:55 AM and Hiro had just clocked in at the main entrance and was currently in the elevator on the way down to his floor. He got out of the elevator and greeted the security guard who nodded at him in response.

Hiro hurried to his room and dropped his backpack off. He looked at his clock, 7:59 AM, perfect. He waited for the clock to tick to 8 AM. He noticed that Ben was still fast asleep. Hiro knocked on the cell door and went inside. Ben was stirred awake by the sound of the door.

“Sleep well?” Hiro asked looking at the groggy boy. “Better than usual, but still not great,” Ben replied. “Are you ready to have breakfast?” Hiro asked. “Of course, I'm ready, why wouldn’t I be?” he asked rhetorically. “Let’s go then,” Hiro said and practically pulled Ben from the room and to the cafeteria.

Today’s breakfast was porridge and either strawberry or apple jam. Hiro decided to go for strawberry jam, and he did add a splash of milk in there as well. Ben went instead for the apple jam and no milk.

They sat down on one of the tables and began eating. Hiro mixed then jam into the porridge until it had been spread consistently throughout, causing the porridge to get a slight red color to it. And it also allowed the milk to mix with the porridge, thus cooling it down a bit. (A/N: This is something I do whenever I eat porridge.)

“This is so much better with jam,” Ben commented while eating. “Are you implying that they served it bare for the last two years?” Hiro asked. “Yeah, but it was better than nothing,” he replied. “But I’m glad it’s over,” he quickly added.

While they were eating, Dr. Peterson walked over to them looking slightly sleep-deprived. “Have a long night?” Hiro asked as he looked at the doctor. “Yeah, I just kept on wondering how this day would be going. Considering…,” she stopped as she realized that Ben was also present. “Considering that you have no idea how to proceed,” Hiro finished her sentence with a smirk.

“What?! No, I do know how to proceed,” she protested. “Oh, really. Tell me, I’m all ears,” Hiro replied, crossed his arms, tilted his head slightly, and gave her a crooked smile. The ultimate “try me” body language. Hiro had to admit that it was a bit standoffish move to pull.

“We-we’re going to make him do the thing,” she stammered. “And that is precisely what we will not do,” Hiro replied. She got flustered. “We’re not?” She asked. “Nope, that’s what you’ve been doing for the past two years,” Hiro pointed out. “Oh, right, silly me. What are we doing then?” she asked.

“Leave that to me, I have a few ideas in mind,” Hiro replied. “And I would have thought a doctor to be smarter than that unless you have your doctorate in stupidity,” Hiro added sarcastically.

Ben snickered at the thought of someone having a job title: “Doctor of Stupidity.” “Okay, enough of that,” Hiro said. “I have to go ahead and do some preparations,” Hiro said and stood up. “Be sure to be in your cell in fifteen minutes,” Hiro added as he walked off.

Hiro grabbed his backpack from his room and took it to the experiment room, where he went through how the session was supposed to go.

Hiro got out at exactly fourteen minutes, and when he looked into the cell, it was empty. So, Hiro waited five…ten minutes, after which Ben finally came to the corridor and froze as he saw Hiro waiting for him, arms crossed and a frown on his face.

“You’re late,” Hiro noted in that “dissatisfied teacher” kind of way. “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again,” Ben replied apologetically. “Good, now follow me,” Hiro said and turned back toward the experiment room.

Hiro decided that punishment would be handed out later on. When they entered the experiment room Ben noticed that there were two chairs facing each other. “Sit down, please,” Hiro said as he walked over to one of the chairs, next to which his backpack was resting.

“Okay,” Ben said hesitantly as he walked over to the other chair. “Now, based on what I interpreted from your reactions yesterday. I think that it’s best to start from the basics,” Hiro said.

“Basics of what?” Ben asked, curiosity apparent in his voice. “You are a technopath. Though you may not realize it, you have certain powerful abilities,” Hiro said. “I do?” “Yes, and I have found…,” Hiro stopped as he realized that he had almost spilled the beans right there and then.

“Found what?” Ben questioned Hiro’s sudden pause. “That another technopath I know of has found them very useful,” Hiro spun a half-truth. “Really? Who are they?” Ben asked curiously. “I have sworn to not reveal their identity to anyone. It’s a secret only they can tell,” Hiro said. “Oh,” Ben said with a disappointed tone.

“But I’m sure they are willing to meet you once you learn some of the basics,” Hiro added. “Really? Will they?” He asked. “I’m sure of it. And you don’t have to doubt everything I say,” Hiro pointed out.

“What are we doing today?” Ben asked eagerly. “First I’d like to talk to you about responsible use of your abilities,” Hiro answered and took a notepad from his backpack. He had written down a few of the key points he wanted to talk about. “Responsible use?” Ben asked.

“Yes, because it is too easy to fall to the dark side,” Hiro replied. “Do you mean literally or figuratively?” Ben asked. “I mean the moral dark side. The place where criminals are,” Hiro replied. “Oh, do you mean that these abilities make crime so easy that one forgets what they are doing?” Ben asked. “Precisely that,” Hiro nodded.

“In essence, you have to swear to only ever use your abilities for good,” Hiro summed up. “Don’t worry, I have never had an inkling to do anything illegal,” Ben replied hastily. “Is that so?” Hiro asked raising an eyebrow to question the statement. “Well, I-I may have participated in a few illegal bot fights. And I may have stolen a bag of candy once,” Ben said and lowered his head in guilt.

“Why did you lie to me?” Hiro asked softly. “I feared that you would be mad at me?” Ben replied. “This whole ordeal is way beyond laws already. Why would I care that you have gone bot fighting?” Hiro asked rhetorically. “To tell you the truth I used to do that as well,” Hiro continued after a moment.

“You’re not mad at me?” Ben asked. “No, I'm not. But that doesn’t mean that I appreciate you lying to me,” Hiro replied. “I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have lied to you,” he apologized. ‘10*2+15 for being late – 5 for apologizing, + 15 for lying – 5 for apologizing. Total of 40 minutes,’ Hiro calculated the length of Ben’s punishment.

“Second thing which is of equal importance to the first,” Hiro said. “Which is?” Ben asked. “Discretion,” Hiro replied. “Yeah, not showing others that you are special,” he nodded. “Indeed, you already know what could happen if the wrong people find out,” Hiro said and smiled apologetically.

“How does one hide it?” Ben asked. “Well, my friend uses a helmet with a unidirectional visor, so that no one can see their eyes. Obviously, that is only necessary when there are strangers about,” Hiro enlightened.

“Makes sense,” Ben nodded. “Good, my friend will tell you more about how to be discreet if or when you get out of here,” Hiro replied and smiled. “Do you think that there is any hope of getting out?” Ben asked. “There is always hope,” Hiro smiled.

“Are we still in San Fransokyo?” Ben suddenly asked. “Yes, we are, why do you ask?” Hiro asked in response, though he guessed what Ben’s motives could be. “It’s nothing really, I was just wondering how far away from home I am,” Ben replied looking at anything but Hiro.

‘Yep, totally a lie,’ Hiro thought but didn’t say anything. He just shook his shoulders and moved on with it. “Anyway, do you have any questions on the etiquette?” Hiro asked. “How does one determine if it is ok to share this secret?” He asked. “You have to use your abilities to find that out for yourself,” Hiro replied.

“Oh, ok,” Ben replied. “Ok then, let’s get started,” Hiro said and took the lamp and turned it on. “Can you turn this off for me, please,” Hiro asked innocently. “I can’t,” Ben replied with a confused look on his face. “Yes, you can, you just don’t know how,” Hiro corrected.

“I mean that I don’t know how,” Ben corrected his own words. “Then I shall teach you,” Hiro said. “How do I do it then?” Ben asked. “Take the lamp,” Hiro said and tossed the lamp to him. Ben looked at Hiro with a confused expression.

“Feel for it in your head, you should find it humming,” Hiro instructed. Ben was silent for a moment then his eyes widened. “I feel it, but there are so many of them and they are all different. Some are regular and others are irregular. Then there is one stronger one and the irregular ones are weaker than the regular ones,” He listed what he felt.

“Let go of the lamp,” Hiro requested. Ben did as asked. “Did the strong one disappear?” Hiro asked. “No, it didn’t disappear, it just weakened a lot,” Ben replied. “Pick up the lamp again,” Hiro asked once again. “Did the same one become stronger again?” He asked. “Yes, it did,” Ben replied.

“That is the lamp then. Follow its call,” Hiro instructed. Ben did so and after a moment his eyes widened. “Wow, I feel the lamp waiting for instructions,” he said. “Now, tell the lamp to turn off,” Hiro guided. Hiro witnessed the lamp turning off. “I-I did it. I turned it off for the first time,” Ben rejoiced.

“Yes, you did,” Hiro agreed and smiled widely. “Now, I have a few items of my own creation with me, which you may play with,” Hiro continued and took a collection of items from his backpack, including Megabot, and placing them on the table.

“Is it a bad thing if I accidentally reverse engineered that lamp?” Ben asked blushing a bit. “Not at all, just try to resist the urge and if you can’t, just promise to not steal the designs,” Hiro said and smiled. “My friend has those same struggles,” He added.

“So, it’s normal then?” Ben asked relieved. “Yes, it is. Do you manage if I leave you on your own for a while? I have to do some things,” Hiro asked. “Not at all,” Ben replied. “Great. I’ll come and get you for lunch if you want out earlier, then just pound on the door and I’ll let you out,” Hiro said.

“Sounds good,” Ben nodded as Hiro stood up, took his backpack, and walked to the door. “Don’t do anything stupid, ok,” Hiro said and turned to look back before the door closed behind him. “I won’t,” Ben reassured him.

When the door had closed Hiro entered Ben’s new room. He took the books from his bag and placed them on the bookshelf. Next to which he hanged a few bot fighting posters he got from home, along with one for his own club.

Hiro then returned to his own room and took out the special device, which he had built yesterday after coming home, it was a device, which would protect a device or a person from mind manipulation. He had based it on the jammer he had found in the experiment room yesterday.

It also had a counterattack built into it. If the device found signs of intrusion, it would go on a counteroffensive. That consisted of manipulating the brain of the attacker in such a way, where they would essentially become paralyzed, leaving only some of the important functions remaining, heart, breathing, eye-movement.

The only way for this to be reversed would be for some other technopath to reverse the blockage. Hiro had also integrated this into his suit’s existing protections, along with a way to manually trigger the stun.

Hiro then set to work on installing one of these devices to the door of the padded cell, such that if something in the door locking system was tampered with, it would trigger, just in case. When Hiro looked at the clock, he realized that it was almost lunchtime. He went to the experiment room. What he found inside was delightful.

Ben was sitting on the floor and Megabot was standing on his legs making movements Hiro could only describe as dancing. Ben was so enthralled in his little performance that he hadn’t noticed Hiro walking in.

“Having fun?” Hiro asked walking behind the boy. “Aah,” Ben exclaimed and whipped his head around in surprise. “You scared the shit out of me,” he exclaimed and swatted Hiro on his leg. ‘make that 45 minutes,’ Hiro thought.

“It’s lunchtime,” Hiro announced as he grabbed the now still Megabot from the floor. “Ok, what is after that?” Ben asked. “Study time,” Hiro replied. “Study time?” He asked for clarification. “I got you some of my old school books and a few books on robotics for you to study since you haven’t been to school in the last two years,” Hiro clarified. “Sounds awesome,” Ben agreed, and they headed toward to eat.

\---

“Where do you think you’re going?” Hiro asked as Ben was about to go to his cell. “Into my room, wasn’t I supposed to?” Ben asked with a slightly alarmed expression. “You’re not going there without a reason ever again,” Hiro replied. “Why?” “Because you’re getting an upgrade,” Hiro revealed.

“Where?” He asked. “Right here,” Hiro said and walked over to the second door next to his. Ben’s eyes widened as he walked into the room. “This is…,” he didn’t have the words to describe his feelings. He walked over to the bookshelf and examined the books, there were older books along with ones he had never seen.

“Like it?” Hiro asked. “Totally, now I won’t be bored,” Ben nodded. “You also have a computer,” Hiro said pointing to the device in question. “What can I do with it?” Ben asked. “You mean what are you allowed to do with it,” Hiro pointed out.

“Anything you like, other than accessing the internet. If there are any programs you would like to have on it just ask,” Hiro continued. “Sweet,” Ben replied. “Yeah, and just a tip, try to use it without hands,” Hiro said and winked. “Oh,” Ben replied as he noticed the lack of a mouse and a keyboard.

“I’ll leave you to study. If you need anything I’ll be in my room. Just knock on the bathroom door, it’s shared.” Hiro said and headed to the door. “Thank you again for all of this,” Ben said and hugged Hiro tightly before letting go.

\---

The afternoon was spent like this. Hiro doing his schoolwork while Ben chose to study high school math since he remembered being very good at math. He figured that it would be the easiest to take a two-year jump in. He was delighted to find out that the first book in the series was basically a condensed version of the entirety of middle school math.

As he browsed through the book, he noticed that some topics had a lot of scribbles written on the margin of the book while others were fairly clean. When he looked at the index of the book, which contained what and how much time each topic was supposed to take, he realized that some of the topics he had never heard of, while others were known to him.

(A/N: The index is something akin to this: <https://oppimisenpalvelut.otava.fi/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/may1sisallys.pdf> (It’s for the first course of Finnish “high school,” (from an actual coursebook)). Technically the US school system goes with a different curriculum. But hey, it’s my fanfic and I make the rules here.)

He figured that Hiro would help him with anything he couldn’t figure out on his own, so he started the first chapter which was “Calculations with Integers.” (A/N: Rough translation) He found it to be mostly the same stuff that he had already learned previously.

When he was done with the theory, he realized that he didn’t have a pen, nor paper. He decided to ask if Hiro would be willing to give him some. So, he headed to the bathroom door. In there was a toilet and a shower. That was a definite upgrade in his opinion, a toilet where he could sit in private. As well as the possibility of taking his own showers.

He knocked on the other door of the bathroom and waited. He didn’t have to wait long as Hiro opened the door. “Need something?” Hiro asked slightly concerned. “Um…Could you give me a pen and some paper?” Ben asked awkwardly. “Oops, sorry, totally forgot to give you those,” Hiro chuckled and walked over to his desk and picked one of the pens from the cup he had them on, and handed it to Ben. Then Hiro took a blank notebook from his backpack and handed it to him as well.

“Now studying should be easier,” Hiro said and smiled. “Thank you,” Ben smiled back as he headed back to his room and sat at his desk. He then started doing the exercises. They were fairly easy, and he was done with them within the 75-minute estimated time window.

He decided to take a small break from studying, so he booted up his computer and looked through what Hiro had preinstalled there, finding nothing of interest he turned it off. Suddenly he got an idea. ‘What if…Could I open the doors with my mind?’ He wondered as he walked over to the door.

He placed his hand over the RFID-reader and felt its hum. He connected to it and after a bit of trial and error, the door opened. He instantly felt guilty. ‘Should I try to escape when I get the chance,’ he pondered. After a bit, he decided that he would get a snack from the cafeteria. ‘If someone asks what I'm doing there, I’ll say that Hiro let me come and get one,’ he planned. ‘As long as Hiro doesn’t find out I'm fine, right?’ He prayed. Thus, he exited his room and headed for the cafeteria.

\---

Hiro was working on a math problem of his own when he noticed movement in the corner of his eye. He looked up and saw Ben walking past his window toward the lobby. He had been expecting that to happen the whole day. Instead of confronting the boy, he decided to not reveal that he knew of his escapade.

And since there was no chance of him escaping during the day he returned to his problem for a few minutes. Soon Ben went past his window in the other direction with an apple in hand. Hiro got a brilliant way to torment the boy who knew exactly how much wrong he was committing.

Hiro then got out of his room and headed to the cafeteria and picked up two apples from the basket. He then headed back to their corridor and he knocked on Ben’s door before opening it.

\---

Ben was exhilarated from the adrenaline, it honestly felt like he had just gotten away with stealing. He was about to bite into his apple when he heard a knock on the door and he quickly hid the apple under his bedsheets.

Ben got anxious when he saw Hiro at the door but was trying his hardest to not show it. “How about taking a small break?” Hiro asked feigning ignorance. “S-sure,” Ben stuttered. He feared that the stuttering would give him away. “Want an apple?” Hiro asked obliviously.

Ben slowly relaxed as he realized that Hiro wasn’t there to reprimand him. “So, what have you been doing?” Ben asked, figuring that leading the conversation was in his interest. “Math, you?” Hiro replied. “Likewise, let’s hope that missing two years in between won’t be a problem,” Ben chuckled. Hiro laughed alongside him. They then ate their apples in silence and after Hiro had finished his, he threw the core to the thrash and headed back to his own room. Ben also returned to his own work.

After progressing a good way through the next chapter, he heard a knock on the door once again. He figured that it must be dinner time, he wasn’t wrong.

\---

Hiro and Ben had just finished eating and were walking toward their corridor. Ben was in front, followed by Hiro. Ben walked in front of the door to his room, expecting Hiro to open the door for him. But to his surprise, Hiro walked over to the cell door. “In here,” Hiro commanded coldly.

“Why?” Ben asked instinctively. “For being late to class, then lying to me about the illegal activities, and finally for swatting me,” Hiro replied in that cold voice. “Is this a punishment?” Ben asked. “Yes, now get in or else,” Hiro commanded. “How long?” Ben asked worriedly. “I will get you out when the time is up,” Hiro replied and pushed Ben inside.

When the door closed Hiro sighed. He didn’t like doing that one bit. It’s like reprimanding a child, you hate doing it, but it just has to be done. Hiro looked at the depressed boy through the window. He felt bad for punishing him for such petty reasons. But on the other hand, fear of punishment is a powerful motivator.

\---

Ben was feeling pretty terrified. He understood why Hiro had put him here. But in the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but think of how much trouble he would be in if Hiro had caught him outside of his room. He was fairly certain that Hiro wouldn’t subject him to pain, but he didn’t want to find out.

\---

After the 45 minutes were up Hiro went over to the cell and opened the door. “Ben, it’s time to get out,” Hiro said softly. “Was that everything?” Ben asked warily. “Yes, that was everything,” Hiro replied. “No more punishments?” he asked. “Not unless you need one,” Hiro replied. “But I’m willing to believe that you will not disappoint me,” Hiro added.

“I won’t,” Ben replied, though he was avoiding Hiro’s eyes. “Is there something else on your mind?” Hiro asked. “I miss my old life,” Ben replied hoping that Hiro would by that as an acceptable answer. “You will get back to it eventually,” Hiro consoled the broken boy.

“Anyway, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?” Hiro asked. “How much time do we have?” Ben asked. “About four hours. Quiet time starts at nine,” Hiro replied. “Just how long was I in here?” Ben asked inquisitively. “45 minutes,” Hiro replied. “It felt like hours,” he commented. “Well, that was the point,” Hiro replied.

“Can we watch movies?” Ben asked shyly. “Of course, we can. Let’s go to my room,” Hiro said, and they went to his room. Hiro grabbed his laptop from his backpack and went over to the bed and laid down gesturing for Ben to do likewise.

“What do you want to watch?” Hiro asked when they had gotten settled. “Iron Man,” Ben replied. Hiro was more than happy to comply; thus, they watched the movie and the second one as well. Then it was already time to prepare for bed.


	33. Escape Attempt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben tries to escape - It backfires on him majorly.

“Good night, Ben,” Hiro said. Hiro was standing in the doorframe of Ben’s room while Ben was sitting on his bed. “Likewise,” Ben replied. “We’ll start at 8 AM tomorrow morning. be sure to take a shower before then,” Hiro informed the boy. “I will,” Ben nodded, although in his mind he thought that he wouldn’t be here in the morning.

“I’ll be heading to bed and you should do the same,” Hiro yawned and stretched his arms. Hiro then left the room and entered his own, though he had no intention of actually sleeping because he was certain that Ben would try to get out, so he sat at his desk and started designing a suit for the boy once he got released from this prison.

\---

Ben was not sleeping either. He was determined to escape once everyone had fallen asleep. He waited for about an hour before he stood up and walked to the door. He hacked the door open and immediately he was hit with a rush of adrenaline, he was really doing this, he was going to get out of here.

He hoped that he wouldn’t run into anyone as at this time he wouldn’t be able to talk himself out of it. He then started sneaking across the corridor silently, it was almost pitch black, only lit by the slight glow from the emergency exit signs.

\---

Hiro noticed Ben move past his window, which meant that it was go-time. He stood up and kitted out in his armor and the black visor he waited until ben was well out of the corridor when he opened the door and snook out himself. He moved silently staying in the shadows. He allowed the boy to hack his way into the entry room, where the security guard would be had it been daytime.

\---

Ben was having the adrenaline rush of his life. He had gotten successfully through the lobby and had just managed to hack the door, which he assumed would take him closer to freedom. When he opened said door, he noticed it being a small room with a security desk and an elevator. He tried to move toward the elevator but found that something had wrapped around his feet.

He bent down to feel what it was. When he touched it, he found out that it was a scale-like material. He looked around for where it could have come from. He got a terrible feeling that this was some sort of security measure to stop him from leaving. But suddenly his feet were free again.

He pondered what he should do. Should he head back to his room and hope that no one would find out or should he continue? He decided to continue, after all, there was no chance that they wouldn’t find out that he tried to escape. It was better to actually do it than to give up and still face the consequences.

And thus, he continued toward the elevator. Just when he was about to reach it. He heard something behind him. He turned around to look for the source of the sound. Then he saw it, a humanoid character as black as a shadow standing in the doorframe, arms crossed, and the scales were popping up randomly and then falling back down.

\---

Hiro had just released Ben from his Microbot shackles and was waiting for what he would do. To Hiro’s great displeasure Ben continued heading toward the elevator, when the boy was almost next to it Hiro moved so that he was visible from where Ben was currently, facing away.

Hiro made some ruckus with his Microbots, which got Ben’s attention as he turned around. Hiro could see Ben freeze in place and his eyes widen from fear. Hiro stayed silent letting his body language do the talking.

“And where exactly are you going?” Hiro asked after a moment of this awkward silence. “I-I can explain,” Ben stuttered. “Go on then, tell me,” Hiro said. “I just wanted to get a breath of fresh air,” Ben explained as he backed away from the elevator. Hiro kept closing the distance between them. “No, I don’t think that that is the reason,” Hiro stated coldly.

“Who are you?” Ben asked fearfully. Hiro didn’t answer, instead, he approached the cornered boy. “Do you really want to know?” Hiro asked menacingly when he was so close that Ben’s nose was touching his visor. Hiro could see the fear in Ben’s eyes. The boy nodded. He then took a few steps back and ordered the Microbots to move out of the way.

\---

Ben was ready to collapse from fear when this mysterious person got right onto his face. “Do you really want to know?” Ben could only imagine the stare he was receiving through the visor. Ben tried to answer but nothing was coming from his mouth, so he just nodded.

The person took a few steps backward and then his helmet if you can call it that quite literally slithered away to reveal… “Hiro,” Ben cried out in panic and turned his head away. “Look at me, Ben,” Hiro ordered coldly.

Ben didn’t want to comply, but then Hiro placed both hands on his shoulders, and the scales moved in such formation, that they forced him to turn his head. When he realized that Hiro wasn’t going to punch him immediately, he slowly opened his eyes and took in Hiro’s very much displeased expression along with the electric blue eyes.

“Y-you…,” Ben started but was interrupted by Hiro. “Not a word,” Hiro hissed. Ben then observed Hiro maneuver himself behind him. Hiro then started pushing him forward with unbelievable strength. Ben found himself being escorted back toward his room, but instead of the room Hiro directed him to the cell, and Ben was practically thrown in. And without another word Ben was left alone in the padded cell.

Ben sighed as he knew that he wouldn’t be getting out of this without punishment. And now that Hiro knew of his ability to open doors he wasn’t supposed to, he feared what kind of countermeasures Hiro would implement.

\---

Hiro was not happy with the situation in the slightest. He knew that punishing the boy would not be easy on him, nor was taking the punishment going to be easy for the boy. But he could not fault him for trying to escape. After all the boy had learned of huge potential in himself. Hiro sighed as he flopped down to his bed and got comfortable. He wasn’t worried about Ben trying to escape again and even if he tried to exit the cell he would be immobilized when he tried to open the door.


	34. The Punishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben is punished for his escape attempt. Lucky for him, Hiro doesn't hold grudges very long.

\--- Wednesday

Hiro’s alarm clock woke him up at 7 AM. He got out of bed and took a shower before he started preparing for the day, which he would have for himself since Ben would be sitting his punishment for last night.

When it was almost 8 AM Hiro walked over to the cafeteria and picked out Ben’s breakfast: porridge, no jam, and a glass of water. He then headed to the cell and opened the door. Ben was already wide awake, no doubt he had slept poorly.

\---

Ben’s expression lit up when he saw Hiro, but it quickly faltered when he saw the tray in Hiro’s hands. “Is that for me?” He asked warily. “Yes,” was the only reply he got as Hiro set the tray on the floor and headed out.

Ben was once again left in the silence of his cell. He then started eating the bland porridge. He was already hating it and the realization that it was his own doing made it ten times worse. After ten or so minutes Hiro came and picked up the tray and headed out again without even looking in Ben’s direction.

\---

Meanwhile, Hiro was sitting in the cafeteria nibbling the sandwich he had made himself when Dr. Peterson joined him at the table. “Is there something wrong?” she asked as she took in Hiro’s depressed expression. “He tried to escape last night,” Hiro replied. “How?” She asked.

“He is a technopath and thus has the ability to open electronic locks,” Hiro explained. “Where is he now?” she asked. “In his cell and he won’t be getting out of there on his own,” Hiro replied. “What if he tries?” she asked. “Then he will find himself paralyzed until I choose to free him from the bind,” Hiro said and flashed an evil grin.

“What are you going to do to him?” she asked anxiously. “He gets to spend the day in his cell with nothing but his own thoughts,” Hiro replied. “So, you’re not going to hurt him?” she asked relieved. “When I get him out, he will have suffered enough from the emotional pain,” Hiro replied.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I have to go escape-proof his room,” Hiro said and walked off. Then he began installing his booby trap onto Ben’s door.

The day went on like this. Hiro minding his own things while Ben was living in the anguish of his own thoughts. When it was time to eat Hiro would deliver the tray and after a while take it out. All the while not saying anything nor looking at Ben.

\---

When it was nearing bedtime, Ben was starting to lose hope of ever being released from the cell. This along with the fact that he still hadn’t been allowed to apologize for what he did was tearing him apart from the inside. He decided that when Hiro would show up next, he would confess and hope that Hiro would forgive him.

\--- Thursday

Hiro woke up once again at 7 AM. He took a shower like he had yesterday. He then started waiting for the clock to tick to 8 AM. When it did Hiro got out of his room and went over to the cell and opened the door. He noticed Ben sleeping on the floor, and didn’t have the heart to wake him up.

Thus, he got his Microbots and lifted the boy carefully, and carried him to the bed he deserved. He then returned the Microbots back to their place and headed over to get two trays of breakfast. One for each. This time with jam and everything.

He returned to Ben’s room to find the boy looking around the room all confused. “Good morning,” Hiro said cheerily as he placed the trays on the desk. “I just had the weirdest and scariest dream ever,” Ben said looking at Hiro for any signs of anger.

“What was it about?” Hiro asked. “I…I tried to escape, and you caught me and locked me in the cell for a day,” Ben replied. “It felt so real,” he added. “Ben,” Hiro said sitting down next to him. “Don’t take this the wrong way but that wasn’t a dream,” Hiro said gently.

Ben’s eyes dilated as his brain went into overdrive. “Oh God,” he exclaimed as his brain connected the dots. “Would you mind explaining how I woke up here?” he asked. “I carried you here before I went to get our breakfast,” Hiro smiled.

“How did you catch me?” Ben asked and looked at Hiro. “Remember those apples?” Hiro smirked. “So, you knew I got myself an apple?” he asked. “Yes, I saw you go past my window,” Hiro replied. “Why didn’t you say anything when you came in with the apples?” Ben questioned.

“I just wanted to see you squirm in your pants, don’t think I didn’t notice how awkward you were,” Hiro chuckled. “So, you knew I could get out of my room, why didn’t you do anything about it?” he asked curiously.

“I actually knew that you would be able to do that even before you demonstrated it,” Hiro replied. “You did?” he asked surprised. “Yes, that is why I installed a special antitampering device to your cell door while you were playing with Megabot,” Hiro revealed. “Only the cell door, why not both?” Ben inquired.

“Truth be told I wanted to test your loyalty,” Hiro smiled sheepishly. “So, you let me get that far deliberately?” Ben asked astounded. “Yes, I could have installed the device to your door as well, which I did yesterday, by the way. That would have ended your escape before it even started,” Hiro stated matter-of-factly.

“I assume that I failed your test spectacularly,” Ben sighed and hid his face behind his hands. “Yeah, you did,” Hiro replied. “But I won’t blame you for trying to get out of here. It’s awful, I know,” Hiro consoled. “You’re not mad at me for trying to escape?” He asked.

“I was yesterday, that is why I didn’t make any contact when I was around you,” Hiro replied. “Well, I’m glad that this is behind us. And I promise that I won’t try to escape again,” Ben said and looked Hiro in the eyes.

They then started eating their breakfast, after which they just hung out in Ben’s room for a while. Hiro could sense that something was still bothering Ben. “Is there something else on your mind?” Hiro asked and looked over at the boy.

“Well, it’s that…what I saw when you caught me,” Ben said awkwardly. “What about it?” Hiro asked though he knew what Ben was referring to. “Your eyes, they were electric blue,” Ben said. “Yeah, I know,” Hiro replied. “But why were they like that?” he asked curiously.

“I could’ve asked you the same question when your eyes were like that while you were playing with my bot,” Hiro said. “Wait? Are you saying that you are like me?” he asked intently. “Yes, I’m a technopath as well,” Hiro confirmed. “That is a coincidence and a half,” Ben whistled.

“Except that the only thing that is a coincidence is that I happened to run into an ex Krei Tech employee, who happened to see you in agony even though he was not supposed to,” Hiro corrected.

“Did you come here just because of me?” Ben asked. “Yes, I couldn’t possibly let them torture you any longer,” Hiro replied. “How long have you been practicing this?” Ben asked. “About a month,” Hiro replied truthfully.

“Can you get me out of here?” Ben asked. “I’ll tell you a secret, Dr. Peterson doesn’t like seeing you here either,” Hiro said. “could we convince her to be on our side?” Ben asked hopefully. “Then there is another secret, we technopaths have an advantage in any debate,” Hiro whispered. “What kind of advantage?” Ben asked intrigued.

“You want a demonstration?” Hiro asked mischievously. “Sure?” Ben asked hesitantly. Hiro then went to grab a pen and paper, which he handed over. “Write down your favorite candy and sign the paper,” Hiro instructed. “Okay,” Ben did as instructed. “Prepare to be blown away,” Hiro joked and took Ben’s hand. “You may feel something strange, but don’t worry, it’s just me,” Hiro warned before he connected.

He decided to see what was going on in Ben’s mind before doing the deed. “Worry…longing to be free…eagerness to learn more…guilt for making Hiro upset…determination not to escape,” were the immediate things. “Could you not look at the entirety of my brain?” Ben asked as he felt weird. “Sorry, just a moment longer,” Hiro reassured as he rewrote Ben’s favorite candy with a better choice: ’Gummy Bears.’

Hiro then disconnected from him. “What did you do in there?” Ben asked with a concerned tone. “What is your favorite candy?” Hiro asked. “Gummy Bears,” Ben answered. “And what did you just write down as your favorite candy?” Hiro asked pointing to the paper. “What the?” Ben exclaimed as he compared what he had just written and what his mind was telling him.

“They’re different,” he finally noted. “Yes, I know. That’s because I changed your favorite,” Hiro chuckled. “So, you made it so that gummy bears are now my favorite? What if I don’t like them?” Ben asked. “How could you not like your favorite candy?” Hiro grinned mischievously. “And besides, I have some in my room,” He added. “Could I?” Ben asked.

Hiro just smiled and popped into his room to fetch a bag before returning. Ben’s mouth watered when he saw the candy. “I haven’t had candy in two years,” he sighed. “I know, luckily I have your favorite,” Hiro grinned.

Thus, they munched on gummy bears, the events of the past few nights totally forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter for today.
> 
> Next Time: Hiro and Ben "ask" the scientists to help them in convincing Krei to stop the experiments and let Ben free.


	35. Please Take Me Home – That’s an Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben guilt-trips Krei into letting him free with the help of subtle persuasion from Hiro's alter ego.

Hiro and Ben were eating lunch together. Their game was afoot; the first order of business, “Learn how much Dr. Peterson really doesn’t want to be doing this.” Like they had expected the doctor in question soon joined them.

“Good to see you two seeing each other again,” she joked. “Yeah, how could I stay away from those beautiful green eyes?” Hiro asked innocently and locked eyes with the boy. “What were you planning on doing today?” she probed.

“Well, I was thinking of teaching him to manipulate minds,” Hiro replied casually. “Really? Can I participate?” she asked sounding very excited. “Sure, under the condition of you helping us convince Krei to stop this experiment and let him go back to a normal life,” Hiro agreed.

“What if I don’t want to?” She asked. “You don’t want, huh? And why is that?” Hiro inquired. “I don’t want to lose my job,” she admitted. “And is it so important to ruin a kid’s life?” Hiro raised an eyebrow.

“I…You’re right. I’m being selfish,” she nodded as she mulled over Hiro’s words. “What are your qualifications exactly?” Hiro asked after a moment. “Mind and Artificial Intelligence,” she answered. “I think that you should consider a job at SFIT,” Hiro suggested, “unless you want to stay here where Krei could fire you at a moment’s notice.”

“You’re right, the job security here is the worst,” she nodded. “And I’m also a bit curious to see what a kid like you does there?” She added sheepishly. “Great, then you shouldn’t have a problem with losing this job,” Hiro pointed out.

“I guess I don’t,” she nodded. “What do you need me to do?” She asked. “I need you to set up an urgent meeting with Krei in here,” Hiro told her. “Ok, I’ll do that but what next?” She asked. Hiro flashed an evil smile. “Then we start the mind games,” Hiro replied.

“Mind games?” she questioned. Hiro linked to both of his pals and sent a message: ‘Yes, Mind Games.’ Dr. Peterson cried out in surprise. Ben was also surprised though didn’t make a sound.

“Did you just talk in my head?” She asked flabbergasted. “Yes, I did,” Hiro confirmed. “What is the extent of those abilities?” She asked. “He did change my favorite candy earlier,” Ben noted. “And I have made myself disappear from my brother’s perception. Oh, and I also implanted the seed of hiring me to Krei’s mind,” Hiro added.

“And it would be quite easy to make you blabber your most sacred secrets right here and now,” Hiro concluded. “So, don’t mess with you is the vibe I'm getting,” she nodded. “Yeah, though I normally wouldn’t use manipulation for that purpose. My alter ego is usually enough,” Hiro revealed.

“Alter Ego?” she asked. “Yeah, would have been cool if it wasn’t in the context of getting caught for escaping,” Ben said excitedly. “Well, you might see me in it when Krei arrives. He has…influence on Krei’s behavior,” Hiro replied. “I hope that neither of you is afraid of sharp objects,” Hiro said.

“No, I don’t think so,” Ben replied. “Does the thought of being near a cactus make you uncomfortable?” Hiro asked. Both shook their heads. “Good since Krei is afraid of my spikes and I like to torment him with them,” Hiro grinned.

“And about your escape, I would have let you escape, had you had a decent chance at it,” Hiro revealed. “Then why did you punish me so harshly?” Ben asked.

“A, since I didn’t want you trying it again. I wouldn’t want to be called to the upper levels because you got caught at the main entrance, then the hell would have broken loose and everyone would know. And B because you didn’t tell me the truth at any point, and even when you had been caught, you continued your escape,” Hiro ranted.

“But we’re cool now right?” Ben asked. “Yeah, totally cool. If things go according to plan, you’ll be leaving tonight,” Hiro replied. “Really?” Ben asked. “Yes, and how many times I have to remind you not to doubt everything I say? Or should I put you in your cell for the time being?” Hiro asked with playful annoyance in his voice.

“No, no…please don’t,” Ben pleaded. Hiro just laughed and ruffled Ben’s hair playfully. “No, I wouldn’t do that to you,” Hiro said after a moment. “But I think you should drill into one of those gentlemen over there,” Hiro added gesturing at the scientists dining around the other table as he raised his voice, grabbing their attention.

They had faces of confusion, eventually one of them cleared their throat. “What do you mean by ‘drill into’?” the scientist asked. “This is what I mean,” Hiro said as he infiltrated the mind of the scientist in question.

“What shall I do with you?” Hiro asked wordlessly. “Excuse me, what?!” The scientist exclaimed in shock. “What is it?” His buddies asked. “He’s…he’s talking in my head,” the scientist said, trying to comprehend it as well.

“Please get me a glass of water,” Hiro requested, speaking normally. “I’m not your servant,” the scientist replied defiantly. “Please get me a glass of water – That’s an order,” Hiro repeated, this time also sending a wordless message. “Right away,” the scientist said and got up. It wasn’t until he had given Hiro the glass of water and returned to his seat that he snapped out of it.

“Wow! That was different,” he exclaimed. “It was like I was under mind control. I couldn’t do anything about it,” he continued. “That is because you were,” Hiro pointed out, his eyes returning to normal.

“What?! You can do that?” the whole table asked. “Yeah, I could have made you hate your favorite candy,” Hiro replied giving the scientist an evil smirk. “You’re kidding me!” The scientist exclaimed in disbelief.

“It’s true, he totally changed my favorite candy this morning,” Ben interjected. “Can you do it as well?” the scientist asked, directing his words at Ben. “Once Hiro tells me how to do so,” Ben replied.

“It’s really not much different from what you have done thus far. Remember those irregular hums? They come from living creatures,” Hiro explained. “Go ahead, try it. But do not under any circumstance try it on me,” Hiro encouraged while also giving Ben a word of warning.

“Okay, but why not you?” Ben asked curiously. “That countermeasure I told you about, it’s also in my suit,” Hiro said. “I don’t want you to find out what it does,” Hiro added with a caring tone.

Ben nodded in understanding before letting his mind afloat. He felt four confused hums, one intrigued one, and one alluring, yet threatening one. He steered away from the threatening one, as that was probably Hiro’s countermeasure.

He chose one of the scientists and infiltrated. “Please put him in my cell – That’s an order,” Ben said pointing at Hiro. “On your command,” the scientist said and got up. “Not going to happen,” Hiro disagreed and got up also.

Hiro sprinted to his room, swiped the door open, connected to his Microbots and finally, he protected himself with them, just in time. His clear purple visor had barely had time to settle when he was tackled and pinned to the ground by the scientist.

Hiro was laying on his back being straddled by the scientist. His hands were pinned to the ground next to his head. A normal person would have no chance of getting free of that position, but Hiro was not a normal human, especially when he was wearing his Microbots.

Hiro saw the other scientists alongside Ben watching from the end of the corridor. Thus, he decided to play along for a while. “Get off of me you brainwashed piece of…” Hiro didn’t finish the sentence because it would have been too vulgar.

Ben was just laughing from where he was observing. “You’re on his side, fine,” Hiro shouted with mock hurt in his voice. “Looks like I have to take the matters to my own hands,” he growled.

Hiro then overpowered the scientist and pushed him to the side and rolled over himself. Hiro got onto all fours and stood up. He took a few steps away from the scientist as he scrambled to get up as well.

Meanwhile, the spectators had shocked looks on their faces. Hiro raised his hands and struck an “I don’t know what you’re talking about” pose. The scientist was coming at him again, but Hiro extended his deterrent, the scientist stopped in his tracks.

The spectating group gasped at the sight. Seeing Hiro’s spiked form seemed to break Ben’s control over him as he started apologizing. “I’m terribly sorry, I couldn’t refuse,” the scientist pleaded.

“I know,” Hiro said as his helmet slid off his head. “Please don’t hurt me,” the scientist cowered. “You fear spiky things, don’t you?” Hiro asked as he returned to a more friendly look. “Yes,” he replied.

“Good to know. Strong negative emotion may break the control,” Hiro muttered more to himself than others. He then walked over to where Ben was standing and picked him up effortlessly.

“What are you doing?” He asked worriedly. “What do you think?” Hiro asked with a mischievous grin as he started walking toward the cell. “Oh no,” Ben exclaimed as he realized what was about to happen.

“Please don’t do it,” he pleaded. “Sorry, I already made up my mind,” Hiro replied. He then tossed Ben to his cell when the door had closed, he walked over to the window and saw Ben pouting in there.

That was the last straw. He collapsed to the floor and started laughing. “What is so funny?” Dr. Peterson asked. “Don’t you get it? He tried to put me in there but ended up there himself,” Hiro said once his laughter had died down.

After about five minutes Hiro decided that it was time to get Ben out of his “punishment.” Thus, he opened the cell door. “Come out you little doofus,” Hiro called out. “Why did you put me in here?” Ben asked as he walked out. “Payback for trying to do me dirty,” Hiro said playfully.

“Oh, sorry,” Ben apologized. “No worries, I had fun,” Hiro chuckled. “Go set up that meeting with Krei,” Hiro directed his words to Dr. Peterson. “If he asks about me say that I'm not in. And don’t say anything about me being a technopath under any circumstance. Am I clear?” Hiro instructed the woman.

“Understood,” she nodded before hurrying off to make the call. Meanwhile, Hiro put his Microbots back in his room and then dismantled his detergent devices from the doors and started packing his things in his backpack.

“Krei will be here in fifteen minutes,” Dr. Peterson came to say at some point. “Great, I will hide in my room then,” Hiro replied. “You should direct the meeting at least until I make my appearance as my Alter Ego. And be sure to get him from his room as well,” Hiro instructed and gestured to Ben, who was reading a book on Hiro’s bed.

“I think I can do that,” she nodded and headed out. “I think that you should head to your room as well,” Hiro said and smiled sympathetically. “You will get out of here, I promise,” He added. Ben nodded and walked over to his room. Hiro didn’t bother to open the door for him since he knew that Ben could do it on his own.

Hiro waited eagerly by the window to his room. He was waiting for Krei to go in Ben’s room along with Dr. Peterson.

\---

Ben was waiting anxiously in his room. He didn’t know much about Krei other than what Hiro had told him. Soon he heard the door open and a tallish man along with Dr. Peterson walked in. Ben immediately put his book away and stood up.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Krei,” he greeted the businessman. “What brings you to my humble abode?” he asked looking up at Krei. “Dr. here wanted to have a meeting with me about something concerning you,” Krei said arrogantly.

“Oh,” Ben feigned ignorance. Before anyone could respond the door opened.

\---

Hiro watched as Krei and Dr. Peterson walked past his room. He waited until they had entered Ben’s room until coming out from his own and walking over to Ben’s room, wearing his Microbots with the black visor.

Hiro opened the door and immediately he had three pairs of eyes on him. One scared, and two relieved. “How on earth did you get in here?” Krei asked looking appalled. “Ah, Mr. Krei, what a pleasant surprise,” Hiro said, choosing his words carefully.

“L-likewise,” Krei stammered. “Oh, don’t mind me listening in on you three,” Hiro said. “Or are you too uncomfortable with me around?” He added. “No, No, it’s fine,” Krei said hastily, he was clearly trying to not show that he was frightened to no end.

“Well, what is it you wanted to have a meeting about?” Krei asked turning to Dr. Peterson. “It’s about him and his future,” she said. “What about it?” Krei asked, clearly not getting it. “He is a kid and we have kept him a prisoner for two years. Don’t you think it’s wrong?” she asked.

“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Krei said bluntly. “Not a surprise,” Hiro said from where he was, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. “Go ahead, Ben. Share your pain,” Hiro urged. Ben then grabbed Krei’s arm and flooding the businessman with his own feelings.

He then stopped and looked at Krei who had a look of guilt on his face. “I-I-I didn’t even realize how big of a mistake I made when I snatched you,” Krei said looking down at the floor.

“There is a way for you to redeem yourself,” Hiro said. “There is?” Krei asked, looking at Hiro for a change. “Yes, you just have to let him go and promise to never do any human experimentation again,” Hiro enlightened him.

“Then that is what we do. Anything to stop these thoughts from haunting me,” Krei said. “Good, you may now go. Send us a chopper to get us three out of here once you get back to your office,” Hiro said.

“Three?” Krei asked looking around the room in confusion. “Me, him and her,” Hiro explained. “What?” Krei asked looking at Dr. Peterson. “You’re quitting?” Krei asked. “Yes, Hiro made me realize that this isn’t a good place to work,” she replied.

“You should really get going Krei before I lose my patience,” Hiro said with an undertone of threat. “Right, I will get you that helicopter,” Krei said as he started walking toward the door, which meant that he would have to pass by Hiro.

Right as Krei was the closest to Hiro, he couldn’t help the urge to intimidate Krei a bit and he puffed up and growled at him. That got Krei on the move and he was out of there in a heartbeat.

Hiro then let his Microbots fall and started laughing, the other two joined in. “You weren’t kidding when you said that he is afraid of you,” Ben commented after a moment. “Come on, let’s pack the rest of our things,” Hiro said and walked over to the door and interfacing with it. He commanded the door to stay wide open, then he did the same to his door.

Hiro then took his backpack and started filling it with the things he brought in a few days ago. After his things were in there, he asked Ben to fill his things in there as well. At some point they got the word that their Helicopter was waiting for them, so Hiro took his Microbots and backpack.

Ben clung to his arm as he was about to walk out of the room. “Please take me home,” he said. “Home? What Home? I’m taking you to your personal hell,” Hiro said mischievously. “Please take me home – That’s an order,” Ben repeated, though he didn’t actually mean it since he remembered Hiro’s warning from earlier.

“Your wish is my command,” Hiro said and played along. He grabbed Ben and carried him toward the elevator, where Dr. Peterson was already waiting with her suitcase. “Why are you carrying him?” she asked amused. “Orders are orders,” Hiro simply said and walked into the said elevator. “Wait, did you?” She asked Ben. “If I did, I didn’t mean to,” he said.

They then got out of the elevator and out of the main entrance. Ben gasped audibly. “We’re on an island,” he exclaimed. “Is that why you said that I had no chance of escape?” he asked. “Yes,” came the curt reply.

Ben was starting to suspect that something was amiss with Hiro, it wasn’t usual for him to reply with such short replies. He began to wonder if he had accidentally ordered Hiro to take him home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Hiro and Ben attempt to track down his family.


	36. Another Brother? – For Now at Least

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro and Ben spend the remainder of Thursday in Hiro's room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~2500 words

Soon they had arrived at Krei Tech, where Hiro and Dr. Peterson shared phone numbers before departing.

“Hiro, where are we going?” Ben asked as they started heading in a direction where his home was not.

“Home,” came another incredibly short reply.

“But my home’s that way,” Ben said pointing in another direction.

“And my home is this way,” Hiro replied, “And besides, there is no guarantee that you’re family still lives there.”

Ben just nodded in understanding. Hiro continued walking toward home. Soon they arrived at the Lucky Cat Café. Hiro let Ben down to his feet. And then was showtime.

“How could you?” Hiro asked putting his arms across his waist as a sign of displeasure.

“Did I accidentally control you?” Ben asked as his gaze sank to the ground. Hiro was silent.

“No, you did not. I’m just messing with you. You would know had you done it,” Hiro grinned as he looked at the miserable teen.

“You pranked me,” Ben exclaimed raising his head.

“Yes, I did,” Hiro laughed and took Ben’s hand into his own. “I think that we are going to get along just fine, techie number two,” he added after a moment of silence.

“Oh, I’m instantly number two?” Ben pouted lightheartedly.

Hiro just shook his head and laughed a bit. “Don’t take it like that, it was a joke,” he said. “How about we go the rest of the way since we are already here?” Hiro suggested, nudging toward the door.

“Yeah, we should probably do that,” Ben replied turning toward the door but then he hesitated.

“Go on, you first,” Hiro encouraged and gently pushed Ben forward.

“Ok,” Ben replied. Hiro smirked behind him. ‘This is going to be fun,’ he thought as he walked in after him.

Aunt Cass seemed to be busy with customers. Thus, Hiro decided that they would try and sneak past unnoticed. But, alas, Aunt Cass is a hawk when it comes to catering to incoming customers. Thus, she finished what she was doing and came over to greet Ben.

“Hello, sweetheart. What may I get you?” Aunt Cass asked with a genuine smile. She wasn’t into the “must always show happy face around customers” thing. She didn’t need to.

“I…I…I was just waiting for my date,” Ben got flustered by this in-your-face hospitability and took a few steps back, but bumped into Hiro doing so.

“Oh, how lovely,” Aunt Cass squeaked cheerily.

“Watch where you’re going, airhead,” Hiro exclaimed from behind him.

“Hiro! Is that how you talk to people?” Aunt Cass asked, shocked by what Hiro had said.

“He walked into me,” Hiro protested, “And besides, you should get going, he doesn’t want your help.”

“How can you say things like that?” Aunt Cass asked, still in shock.

Hiro ignored the question. Instead, he turned toward the staircase to their apartment. “Come on, Ben, follow me,” Hiro replied and started walking toward said stairs. Ben did as Hiro had asked and followed him. This left Aunt Cass totally confused before she connected the dots. ‘They must be friends,’ she concluded. Satisfied with that she dropped the topic and went back to serving customers.

* * *

In Hiro’s Bedroom

“Wow, what a mess,” Ben exclaimed when he walked into Hiro and Tadashi’s shared bedroom.

“Yeah, sorry,” Hiro smiled apologetically, “But it’s not a mess, it’s organized chaos.”

“No, I don’t mind it. Reminds me of home,” Ben chuckled a bit at how the previous sentence had just rolled of Hiro’s tongue. It was obvious to him that Hiro had used that same response many times before. His smile then faltered as he remembered home and his mom.

“You got the feels?” Hiro asked sympathetically and looked Ben in the eyes.

“Yeah, I miss my mom,” Ben sighed melancholically.

“Don’t worry, we WILL find her,” Hiro said enthusiastically.

“What if we don’t?” Ben asked, his lower lip quivering threateningly.

“Then, you get to live with me,” Hiro replied. “But that is only IF we don’t find her,” he added quickly.

“And if we do, what then?” Ben asked.

“Then it’s up to you. You can choose to cut every connection you have with me…or we can continue along as friends with a shared secret,” Hiro listed casually.

“I will definitely still be your friend,” Ben quickly said, “There is no way I would cut ties with you for any reason.”

“Thanks for the trust,” Hiro chuckled. “Have you thought about what you will do with school?” Hiro asked while he was unpacking his backpack.

“I have not. But based on the math book you gave me, I think I may return back to where I left off,” Ben replied confidently.

“Very well then, middle school it is,” Hiro nodded. Soon he had gotten the normal items back to the shelf in the proper order, h couldn’t stand seeing a bookshelf out of order. He could blame his genius brain for having OCPD. But he doesn’t because it is also the force that drives him toward perfection in whatever he does.

(A/N: OCPD ≠ OCD, though it often gets called that by mistake. Learned this myself just now. Who knew one could learn by writing fanfiction? :))

“Um…Hiro,” Ben asked awkwardly after a moment of silence.

“What is it?” Hiro asked, turning to look at Ben.

“Could you give me some gummy bears?” He asked and blushed.

“Sure,” Hiro grinned and walked over to his safe, from which he had recently removed the keypad. That way Tadashi had no way of getting to its contents. He opened his safe and on the top shelf, there were ten packs of gummy bears. Hiro liked to keep a stash of them for bad days.

The “deal” he had with Tadashi as a result of the less than pleasant events between the two had been beneficial to the size of his reserves. After all, even though he was obsessed with gummy bears, it was better to have them always in stock than to eat a large quantity at once.

While he was at it, he placed the MindMangler™ grenades in the safe as well. He did not want them in anyone else’s hands, after all, they could be used against him. And he definitely didn’t want that to happen. (A/N: Not foreshadowing, I swear.) After he locked the safe again, he returned to where Ben was sitting on his bed.

“Here you go,” Hiro said and tossed him a bag of said gummy bears.

“Thank you,” Ben nodded and put a handful in his mouth.

* * *

A few Hours Later

Hiro was working on some prototypes for Ben’s Super Armor, there was no way that he’d let the boy out of the house without adequate protection. Hiro had decided that it would consist of an undergarment like his, which could be worn as everyday clothing.

Then there was the armor itself, which consisted of Simple armor plates on the chest and back, which would be held in place by straps. Then there were also kneepads for obvious reasons. Of course, the basic suit offered protection when just being stationary. But if you were gonna crawl a longer distance, kneepads would be useful. (A/N: Essentially Hiro’s armor from the movie, except with proper boots.)

Ben on the other hand was enthralled in Hiro’s extensive collection of robotics books. Both of them looked up when they heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Hiro, do you have a friend I don’t know about?” Tadashi asked as he was walking up the stairs to their bedroom.

“What? No! Why would I have secret friends?” Hiro asked with a mischievous grin plastered on his face.

Tadashi then peeked into the room and saw the two teens, one laying on Hiro’s bed with a book in his hand, while the other was sitting on his swivel chair. Both of them were looking at him.

“Hiro, who is he?” Tadashi asked and pointed to Ben.

“Tadashi, this is Ben, a friend of mine. Ben, this is Tadashi, my brother,” Hiro introduced.

“When did you meet him?” Tadashi asked.

“This Monday,” Hiro replied casually.

“Why haven’t you told me about him,” Tadashi asked with a frown on his face.

“I have, literally the same day,” Hiro replied.

“Oh, Oh, OH,” Tadashi facepalmed as he connected the dots. “Is he the other technopath?” he finally asked.

“There we go, now you’re getting it,” Hiro grinned, “He indeed is.”

“So, you got him out. What next? Will he need a hiding place? Where will he live?” Tadashi bombarded Hiro with questions.

“Next, we go to the police and find out if there is a missing person report with his name on it. If there is, then it will be easy to find his family wherever they are, if not we will have to hope that they still live in the same place.” Hiro enlightened his brother.

“And what if they don’t?” Tadashi questioned worriedly.

“Then we start searching for them, and until we find them, he will live with us,” Hiro continued.

“When did you have time to come up with this plan?” Tadashi asked.

“Today, while we were walking here from Krei Tech,” Hiro replied casually.

“I shouldn’t have asked,” Tadashi shook his head and then turned to Ben, “Anyhow, I’d like to know more about you.”

“Sure, what do you want to know?” Ben asked and sat up.

“How old are you?”

“14.”

“What is your favorite color?”

“Blue”

“How good are you with your abilities?”

“Miles behind your brother. I didn’t even know I had them until he told me so.”

“What are your interests?”

“Robotics and bot-fighting,” Ben replied.

“Unbelievable,” Tadashi exclaimed in exasperation dragging his hand over his face. “Just when I thought that I wouldn’t have to rescue anyone from a bot-fight again.”

“You won’t have to, I’ll make sure of that,” Hiro piped in.

“How?” Both Ben and Tadashi asked.

“I have my ways,” Hiro said and grinned mischievously.

“You’re going to lock me in the basement, aren’t you?” Ben asked warily.

“Oh, darn. You’re too smart for me to handle,” Hiro whined, though he couldn’t help the grin forming on his face. “But Nah, I have much more devious things planned should you go somewhere I disapprove of.”

“I demand to know what you will do if I go bot fighting,” Ben said with a threatening undertone.

“Why would I tell you?” Hiro asked mockingly, though it was a joke.

“What will you do if I go bot fighting, tell me – That’s an Order,” Ben said, his eyes turning electric blue.

“Ben, don’t,” Hiro cried out but too late. Ben had entered the influence of Hiro’s countermeasure and wouldn’t be able to escape it without a lot of willpower.

And just like that. Hiro’s suit beeped quietly and in the next instant Ben’s body went limp. Hiro was on him that instant and pushed him so that Ben was laying on the bed.

“Hiro, what just happened?” Tadashi asked.

“He tried to enter my head and order me to tell him, but he seems to have forgotten about the countermeasure I have in my suit,” Hiro explained.

“What does this countermeasure do?” Tadashi asked worriedly as he looked at the immobile boy.

“It scrambles the infiltrator's brain such that he loses the ability to move and talk,” Hiro replied.

“You can fix him, right?” Tadashi asked with a concerned look on his face.

“Of course, I can. I wouldn’t use something that leaves permanent effects. But it’s a totally different thing whether I want to fix him,” Hiro said and gave an evil grin.

“But you can’t just leave him like that,” Tadashi replied.

Hiro then linked to Tadashi and said pretty bluntly the obvious and to shut up and let Hiro continue his act.

“I could just leave you like this until dinner,” Hiro said and smiled widely at the still boy, whose eyes gave away the fact that he was very scared. “Does that sound good?” He asked after a moment, “Say something if you disagree.”

Hiro then returned to his computer and started coloring the prototype images.

* * *

Ben’s POV

‘How on earth did we end up here?’ Ben thought as he laid helplessly on Hiro’s bed, unable to do anything but think, hear, and blink his eyes.

After what felt like hours Hiro came to his field of vision and placed a hand on his head. He could feel Hiro enter and soon he realized that he could move his mouth and tongue.

He then felt Hiro leave, so he tried to sit up, but found that he couldn’t.

* * *

Return to General/Hiro’s POV

“Um…Hiro, I can’t move,” Ben said and turned his head to look at Hiro.

“Good,” Hiro replied and smiled.

“What is so good about it?” Ben asked worriedly.

“This way you won’t be able to fight back,” Hiro said menacingly.

“What are you going to do to me?” Ben asked worriedly.

“I will do this to you,” Hiro replied and started tickling the helpless boy.

“Please, stop,” Ben breathed out amidst the laughter.

“Try to stop me then,” Hiro responded and tickled harder. That lasted for a few minutes after which Hiro stopped.

“Thank you,” Ben said once he had caught his breath. “Will you let me move now?”

“Not yet. First, you’re going to listen to what I have to say,” Hiro replied.

“Ok,” Ben replied hesitantly.

“So, Bot-fighting, I will allow you to go to them under two conditions,” Hiro started.

“And what are they?” Ben asked worriedly.

“One, I will come with you. And two, I decide where we go,” Hiro listed his demands.

“I can work with that,” Ben agreed.

Hiro then placed his hand on Ben’s head once more and allowed him to move.

“You should now be free to move again,” Hiro said as he detached from Ben’s mind.

Ben then sat up and stretched. “That was the weirdest experience ever,” he said as stood up. “But please don’t do it again,” he added quickly as he noticed the glint in Hiro’s eyes.

“What? You did it to yourself,” Hiro replied.

* * *

“Hiro, Tadashi, dinner is ready,” Aunt Cass called out sometime later.

“Coming, Aunt Cass,” Hiro shouted back, stood up, and walked downstairs, the other two behind him.

The three boys descended the stairs and joined Aunt Cass at the dinner table.

“Who are you really?” Aunt Cass asked when she noticed Ben.

“I’m Ben. I don’t know how much Hiro has told you about me, but in short, I was kidnapped by Krei and experimented on for two years until he found out and got me out,” Ben told his story.

“Oh, yeah. Hiro did tell me about having such a job, but does that mean that you won’t have a job anymore?” Aunt Cass asked turning to Hiro.

“Probably, Krei is known to fire people on the moment’s notice,” Hiro replied.

“Oh, that’s too bad. But what is next for him?” Aunt Cass asked.

“We will go to the police first thing tomorrow,” Hiro replied.

“Well, that’s good, but let’s have dinner,” Aunt Cass sighed and ushered the teens to sit down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Hiro and Ben go out to find his family.


	37. Hunt for Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro and Ben go to find his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~1800 words

* * *

Friday morning – At the Police Station

“I’m nervous,” Ben admitted when he was about to walk into the police station with Hiro, who had insisted that they would go alone.

“I understand but don’t worry. It’ll go well,” Hiro encouraged him.

“If you say so,” Ben nodded and walked in.

* * *

“That was a total waste of time,” Hiro huffed when they walked out.

“Yeah, totally. That officer wouldn’t even bother to look,” Ben agreed equally frustrated.

“I guess that we should then go and check your old home and hope that your family still lives there,” Hiro said.

“I guess you’re right,” Ben nodded.

“Great, where do you live?” Hiro asked and looked at Ben.

“Not far from here,” Ben replied and started walking in a certain direction.

“Let’s go then,” Hiro agreed and walked after him.

* * *

After about ten minutes of walking, Ben and Hiro stopped in front of a small apartment complex.

“We used to live on the third floor,” Ben said as they walked toward the front door.

“Um…I don’t have a key,” Ben said as he realized that.

“Do you need one?” Hiro asked mischievously.

“Oh, right,” Ben laughed as he remembered that he indeed did not need a key to open the remote-operated lock.

“Shall I do it or would you like the honor?” Hiro asked, smiling widely.

“I’ll do it, I need the practice anyway,” Ben replied and felt for the lock, he found it and connected and opened the lock but then he got a headache. “Is it normal to get a headache?” He asked.

“Yeah, when you stuff over the air, it drains your mental resources, when they are gone you get a headache,” Hiro explained.

“So, when possible it’s better to be hands-on?” Ben confirmed.

“Pretty much,” Hiro agreed.

They then walked to the third floor and Ben pointed out the door in question.

“I think we lucked out,” Ben exclaimed as he examined the nameplate on the door.

“What are you waiting for then, ring the bell,” Hiro urged him.

Ben did so and then they waited. Not long after they heard someone open the inner door and they tensed in anticipation. Then the outer door opened, and a middle-aged woman looked out of the door. Her eyes widened as he took in the sight of the two teens.

“Ben, is it you?” She asked looking at the boy in question.

“Yes, it’s me,” he replied and launched for a hug, which the woman, presumably his mother also embraced.

“Where have you been these past two years?” his mom asked.

“It’s a long story, of which I only know parts of,” Ben replied and looked at Hiro for help.

“How about you let us inside, and then we can have a storytime,” Hiro suggested.

“Of course, and who might you be?” the woman asked.

“I’m Hiro,” Hiro introduced himself.

“And how do you know my son?” she asked warily, which was understandable.

“It gets revealed during the story, but let’s just say that he wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me,” Hiro explained.

“All right then, I also have some cookies, so we can munch on those while you tell the story,” she agreed.

* * *

The group was sitting on the couch in the living room. Ben sitting between his mom and Hiro.

“So, what happened,” Ben’s mom asked.

“Let’s start from the beginning. Two years ago, you had a major fight between you two.” Hiro started his story. “Yeah, I remember, the whole house was a mess, broken lights everywhere,” his mom nodded.

“Not just inside, but also outside. And apparently, someone with bad intentions saw his eyes,” Hiro added.

“His eyes, what about them,” she asked.

“Well, come to that eventually,” Hiro said. “Anyway, this bad guy kidnapped Ben to run experiments on him.”

“What kind of experiments?” She asked worriedly.

“They would ask me to turn off a lightbulb, but at the time I didn’t know I could do that. Thus, I’d say that I can’t, but they wouldn’t believe me. And because of that, they would torture me with electricity until I would pass out. Rinse and repeat every day,” Ben explained.

“What do you mean couldn’t turn off a light?” his mother asked.

“We’ll come to that eventually,” Hiro said. “Anyway, time skip one year, when another scientist happened to see one of these torture sessions, due to his curiosity, though he was not supposed to,” Hiro continued.

“Ok, but what does that have to do with anything?” she asked.

“I’ll come to that soon,” Hiro reassured her.

“Time skip to the time following the SFIT fire, when I was discovering new abilities I apparently have. You have no doubt heard of the miracle with the fire suppression and the Microbots,” Hiro continued his story.

“I have, but no one knows how it happened,” she nodded.

“Well, the thing is. I did both of them, and when I went to tell that to Professor Callaghan, I learned of what happened to his wife,” Hiro told her.

“What! How?” She exclaimed in surprise.

“I have an ability to control electronics, and to read and manipulate minds as a side effect,” Hiro revealed.

“You what?”

“I’m serious,” Hiro asserted.

“Ok, but what does that have to do with my son?” She asked.

“Well, when I heard what happened to Callaghan’s wife, I offered my help, and thus one day I walked into Krei Tech headquarters and woke her up from her coma in ten minutes, something that the scientists had tried to do for five years,” Hiro replied.

“Then Krei apparently decided to sack these doctors, and one of which got a new job as a paramedic, to whom I ran into by coincidence. And then another coincidental event led to me instinctively using my abilities and he remembered that he had seen eyes like mine before.”

“You’ve mentioned eyes twice now. What is up with that?”

“Well, they turn electric blue whenever I use my abilities, I have no idea why,” Hiro explained. “Through him, I learned of Ben’s peril. And I just knew that I had to help.”

“So, you got him out of wherever he was being held at, but how?”

“Well, I had to use some less than ethical means of persuasion to make Krei hire me to oversee the project in question. Thus, I was in,” Hiro enlightened her.

“And how did you get him out? Did you bust him out?” She asked.

“No, I started off as if there was no special reason for me to be there, other than the threats I made as my alter ego,” Hiro replied. “Thus, I started my work as the overseer and his support person.”

“And what then?”

“Well, long story short, yesterday we he guilt-tripped Krei by sharing his depression with him, thus we were able to convince him to shut the whole operation down. Thus, he spent last night over at my house. And this morning we tried to go to the police, but they were useless. Then we headed here.”

* * *

“Ok, that is one hell of a story, but I’m still a bit confused about what do your abilities have to do with this?”

“Don’t you see, Ben is also like me, a technopath,” Hiro revealed.

“What? Ben? Why has he not told me about it?”

“The thing is, he didn’t even know he was one until I said so in his face,” Hiro explained. “So, in a sense, he was being held captive for two years without even knowing why.”

“I see but how will that affect his life?”

“As much or as little as he likes. I use them shamelessly around the house and friends who know about them,” Hiro replied.

“What do you use them for?”

“Anything from discreet phone calls or private conversations to controlling Microbots and computers,” Hiro replied, “Of course I also use them for pranks, as well as a threat to get my way in petty arguments.”

“What do you think of this, Ben?” She asked with a concerned expression.

“I think it’s cool. To be able to do things that others can’t. And we would be stuck outside right now if neither of us had these abilities,” Ben replied.

“So, you don’t mind it?” She confirmed surprisedly.

“Not at all,” Ben affirmed.

“So, what you’re saying is that you want to have a playdate with Megabot?” Hiro asked teasingly.

“Hiro,” Ben exclaimed out of embarrassment.

“What?” Hiro asked innocently, though he couldn’t help the smirk.

“It’s embarrassing.”

“Oh, I thought you liked making my battle-bot dance?” Hiro continued his teasing.

“I…it’s…it’s not. I was just bored,” Ben stammered.

“Oh, come on. We could have had a battle-bot dance competition but since you’re not interested…” Hiro said, leaving the sentence hanging.

“Why do you keep teasing me with that?” Ben asked slightly irritated.

“Because I like you,” Hiro replied and smiled genuinely.

“Hiro, can I tell my mom about the other you?” Ben asked and looked pleadingly at Hiro.

“I could say no…but I'm gonna say yes,” Hiro agreed, after holding the suspense for a moment.

“So, mom. Hiro has an alter ego, he’s the coolest,” Ben fanboyed.

“Oh, really, but why?” she asked, looking at Hiro.

“Well, it originated from the need to question Krei without revealing my identity. Then it has evolved to also be a great way to hide my use of my abilities,” Hiro explained.

“Yeah, he even has a super-suit,” Ben continued his geeking out.

“What does it look like?” His mom asked.

“I could tell you…or I could just show you,” Hiro said, doing the whole “keep the suspense” thing again.

“Do you have it on you? Like right now?” She asked, way more excitedly than a minute ago. Apparently, she was a superhero fan as well.

“Yep,” Hiro replied and took off his hoodie.

“That’s discreet. I had no idea that you had a suit on,” she complimented, admiring the design.

“It can also do this,” Hiro said and turned the emissives on.

“It glows? But it doesn’t look that super to me,” she criticized.

“This is just what I wear under my actual armor, which consists of Microbots,” Hiro enlightened.

“Is there any chance of me seeing it?” She asked hopefully.

“Maybe,” Hiro said hesitantly.

* * *

“Ben, would you like to go bot-fighting with me later on today?” Hiro asked.

“I would love to. Where are we going?” Ben asked excitedly.

“To this relatively new place, today is their second time open,” Hiro revealed.

“Is it a legal one?” Ben asked hesitantly, stealing a glance at his mother.

“Yep, totally 100 percent legal. There is just one catch,” Hiro reassured him.

“Which is?” Ben asked warily.

“You’ll have to fill this,” Hiro said, tossing his phone to Ben in the process.

Ben quickly filled the form and handed the phone back to Hiro, who pocketed his phone.

“Great, I will come and pick you up around 4:15 PM,” Hiro said and hugged Ben.

“Sounds good, I’ll be waiting,” Ben nodded.

Hiro then departed and headed back home. ‘Mission Successful,’ he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A somewhat of a refresher of the events thus far. And in case you didn't figure it out, the police station scene at the start is a nod to the movie.
> 
> Next Time: Hiro and Ben go bot-fighting.
> 
> PS: This fic is getting so long that I had to split it into two Word-documents because Grammarly was taking ages to process it.


	38. Bot-fighting – Technopath style

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro takes Ben bot-fighting. They have some fun with Fred's expense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~4600 words

“So, did you find his family?” Tadashi asked when Hiro arrived home.

“Based on the fact that he isn’t with me, I’d say so,” Hiro replied snarkily.

“Very funny,” Tadashi remarked and ruffled Hiro's hair affectionately.

“Stop that,” Hiro exclaimed and took a step away from his brother. He then fixed his hair the way he liked it.

“Anyhow, what were you planning on doing now that you don’t work at Krei Tech anymore?” Tadashi asked.

“Well, right now? I’m leaving for school,” Hiro said and went to pack his backpack.

“I’ll give you a ride. And I should also work on Baymax a bit,” Tadashi offered.

“Works with me,” Hiro agreed and they left.

* * *

The school day was mostly uneventful for Hiro if one doesn’t count the occasional question of where he had been for the past week.

During lunch, the nerd crew practically swarmed him. After all, he had been off-grid for the past week.

“Where have you been?” Honey Lemon asked and hugged Hiro tightly.

“Like I told you before, I was working over at Krei Tech,” Hiro reminded them.

“Oh, yeah. That human experimentation thing. How was it?” Wasabi asked hesitantly.

“Could have been worse, could have been better,” Hiro replied casually.

“So, how accurate was your information? I mean was he a technopath?” GoGo asked.

“He is a technopath, though he didn’t know it,” Hiro responded.

“So, is he still in there?” Fred asked. He was acting surprisingly maturely considering his usual persona.

“Nope,” Hiro answered.

“Where is he then?” GoGo asked.

“With his parents,” Hiro replied and smiled widely.

“So, he is free now? Like officially?” Wasabi questioned.

“Yep, and yep,” Hiro confirmed.

“Ooh, ooh, when can I meet him?” Fred asked excitedly.

“It’s his thing to decide whether he wants to meet you. But he is a bot-fighter and he will be coming to today’s bot fight with me,” Hiro revealed.

“You’re going to bot-fighting?” Honey Lemon asked, a worried expression on his face.

“Yeah, Tadashi told us that you quit bot-fighting,” Wasabi clarified.

“When did he tell you this?” Hiro asked warily.

“Just a few days after school started this fall,” GoGo said.

“Well, he told you what he thought was the truth,” Hiro explained.

“So were you lying to him?” Honey Lemon asked.

“No, he never asked,” Hiro replied, “I guess that he just assumed that I quit entirely when I quit the illegal bot-fights.”

“Where do you go nowadays then?” Wasabi asked.

“You have no doubt noticed the posters around the school?” Hiro asked and nodded toward one of them.

“Oh, yeah. That makes sense. Of course, you would go to that one,” Fred said.

“But why do you bring it up?” GoGo asked.

“Fred wanted to meet my friend. My friend will be here tonight. The event is open to spectators. I think you should be able to figure where this is going,” Hiro explained.

“Ooh, can I come to spectate? I’ve never seen you bot-fight,” Fred asked excitedly.

“Of course,” Hiro agreed, “In fact, I’m inviting all of you.”

“Really?” Honey Lemon asked.

“Yep, be sure to come about ten minutes early,” Hiro informed them and walked off to his classes.

* * *

Hiro and Tadashi had just returned home from school and they were hanging out in their room. Hiro was repacking his backpack for the evening. Megabot, his loanable robots, and the controllers for them. He also packed the neurotransmitter, just in case.

“So, Hiro, what should we do tonight?” Tadashi asked.

“It’s Friday,” Hiro replied.

“Which means?” Tadashi asked warily.

“Which means that today there is bot-fighting at SFIT,” Hiro replied.

“Oh,” Tadashi said, his shoulders sank as he realized what Hiro was saying.

“Yeah, are you coming, or have you given up after only one time?” Hiro teased.

“I’m going to come,” Tadashi said quickly when he realized that if he didn’t Hiro would not quit reminding him about it for a long time.

“Good,” Hiro nodded.

Hiro then set up a group chat with his friends.

* * *

Bot-fighters and Superheroes Group Chat:

Techie (Hiro): Remember to come bot-fighting tonight.

Iron Lady (Abigail): Will do! Thanks for the reminder, Techie.

Dashi: Seriously, Hiro. You just had to invite me.

Megan: Of course I will be there, Techie; we haven’t seen in two weeks.

Milly: I will be there and I will drag my brother along no matter what.

Techie (Hiro): Sure, but invite him into this chat and make sure that he has filled the form.

<Milly invited “Jack”>

Jack: Milly told me that today is the day I get to see you in action. I’m so hyped.

Techie (Hiro): It indeed is that day, Fanboy. Ps. Should I change your nickname to that? :P

<Hiro nicknamed Jack, “Fanboy”>

Fanboy (Jack): Please don’t.

Milly: That’s genius.

Iron Lady (Abigail): I’m dying from laughing.

Techie (Hiro): Too late, already done.

Fanboy (Jack): I hate you.

Techie (Hiro): Language, or else…

Iron Lady (Abigail): Ooh, menacing.

Fanboy (Jack): Else what?

Techie (Hiro): The Black Shadow might pay a visit.

Fanboy (Jack): Who?

Techie (Hiro): He who is prickly.

Fanboy (Jack): Please don’t, I beg you.

Milly: What part of “or else” did you not understand?

Fanboy (Jack): I'm sorry. It’s not me who gets to decide nicknames here.

Techie (Hiro): That sounds better. :).

Techie (Hiro): Well, see you then.

* * *

Hiro removed the mindreading inhibitor from his suit, so that either he or Ben could initiate a conversation. After all, the device was meant to as a just in case.

It was no longer needed and the probability of encountering a villainous technopath was incredibly low.

He placed the device in his safe along with the MindMangler™ grenades, which were all there, none had gone missing. Unlike those Microbots, wherever they were.

* * *

Around 4 PM

Hiro had read Ben’s bot-fighting application form. It didn’t have anything special in it. There also weren’t any other new ones either. Thus there was a moderate chance for him to do what he had wanted to do for a while.

“Dashi, I’m leaving,” Hiro announced and collected his Microbots.

“Why? It’s still an hour away,” Tadashi replied, setting his book down.

“I have to set the place up and I promised to get my friend on the way,” Hiro explained.

“Got it, I’ll come on the scooter then,” Tadashi nodded.

“Great, see you then,” Hiro said and left the room.

* * *

Hiro was once again in front of the building they were at earlier. He was just about to force the electronic lock to yield to his command when the door suddenly flew open and he was knocked over.

Luckily, he had his whole MicroArmor™ on at that moment, thus he didn’t get hurt by the sudden collision. He was about to say something rude to the person who had knocked him over when he realized who it was.

“Ben? What is up with you?” Hiro asked getting up and pulling the teen up as well.

“Hiro?” He asked realizing that as well.

“Yep, it’s me. Mind telling what happened?” Hiro asked genuinely.

“I…I had an argument with my mom,” Ben sighed.

“A big one? About what?” Hiro continued his questions.

“About a new phone, since I lost mine back then,” Ben exclaimed.

“Why did it turn into a fight? To me that seems like a perfectly good reason to ask for a new phone,” Hiro comforted.

“Well, she thinks that it is my fault that I need a new one. And thusly she won’t pay for it,” Ben replied.

“I see,” Hiro nodded understandingly, “So you got angry because she kept accusing you of losing it even though you had absolutely nothing to do with it.”

“Pretty much,” Ben confirmed.

“What do you say, shall we teach her a lesson?” Hiro asked mischievously.

“Absolutely, what do you have in mind?” Ben asked getting a mischievous smile of his own.

“I was thinking about using this to some extent,” Hiro said and extended his offensive defenses.

“This is gonna be awesome,” Ben exclaimed and they headed back inside.

* * *

Ben opened the apartment door quietly, letting both boys in. To their surprise, they heard his mother crying. He looked questioningly at Hiro.

“I won’t go on her too hard,” Hiro whispered the answer to the unasked question.

Ben nodded and headed toward the source of the sound. Hiro switched to the transparent purple visor and followed after him.

“Mom, what are you doing?” Ben asked as he observed his mom cry on his bed.

“B-Ben,” she stammered as he realized the boy looking at her.

“Why are you crying?” Ben asked though he suspected what the answer might be.

“I’m so sorry. I should have thought it through first,” his mom cried.

“Yeah, you should have but it’s not the end of the world,” Ben consoled his mom.

“How come you came back this quickly?” She asked.

“I ran into someone and they were not pleased by the circumstances of my anger,” Ben replied vaguely.

“Who were they?” She asked intrigued.

“Just a local superhero. Normally a nice guy but god bless you if he gets mad at you,” Ben explained.

Hiro was grinning behind the corner, just the type of description to make his form that much more intimidating.

“Are they mad at me?” She asked with a worried look.

“Oh, yeah. They were super mad, as was I,” Ben answered, “Thusly he is right now in the other room listening to your pleas of forgiveness.”

“We have a superhero in our apartment?” She asked, her demeanor instantly brightening up.

“A pissed off superhero, but yes,” Ben confirmed.

“What must I do for him to not beat me up?” She asked.

“Give me the money to buy that new phone and an acknowledgment of none of this being my fault,” Ben demanded.

“I agree to those demands,” she said hastily.

She got up and started heading toward the room where Hiro was hiding. He quickly transitioned to the non-transparent visor.

Ben’s mom gasped as he noticed Hiro, who was standing straight, hands folded.

“Move right along,” Hiro said coldly.

She did so and not long after Ben had a stack of money in his pockets.

“Good, it looks like I don’t have to go all meanie on you,” Hiro said and slackened his posture. He looked at his phone for the time: 4:15, good thing that he had reserved plenty of time.

“So you’re a superhero?” She asked.

“You could say that,” Hiro replied.

“How come Ben trusted you so easily?” She asked.

“Because he knows the other me,” Hiro answered casually.

“How?” She asked intrigued.

“This is how,” Hiro said and the Microbots shifted away from his head.

“What!? You,” she exclaimed.

“Yep, I have an alter ego don’t you remember,” Hiro replied.

“How do you fight?” She asked excitedly.

“This is how I intimidate,” Hiro said and spiked up.

“That’s nasty,” she pointed out, “Would not want to be touched by those.”

“And this is how I fight if it comes to it,” Hiro said and called the rest of his Microbots from the corridor.

“These guys will do what I want them to do. Be it holding someone in place while I tickle torture them, climbing up a wall, or doing something super nasty,” Hiro replied as he ordered the Microbots to move around the room elegantly.

“Anyway, Ben, we have to go or we’ll be late,” Hiro said as he carried himself over to the boy.

“Okay, when will we be back?” Ben asked.

“Probably a bit after 9,” Hiro replied.

“Great, I’ll just grab my bot and we’re good to go,” Ben agreed and headed to his room. Not long after he came out with a backpack.

“Great, let’s get going then,” Hiro said.

“How are we going there?” Ben asked intently.

“With these,” Hiro said and shivered the Microbots around impatiently.

“Oh, ok,” Ben said.

Without another word Hiro controlled the Microbots to flow up Ben’s legs, then his torso and hands, and finally his head. Hiro had decided to give him the transparent visor.

“Mom, look! I’m a superhero,” Ben exclaimed happily.

“Not quite yet,” Hiro calmed him down.

Hiro then grabbed him and off they went.

* * *

“San Fransokyo Institute of Technology? Is the bot-fight at your school?” Ben asked curiously.

“Yeah, it is. And that’s why I go to them,” Hiro replied.

Hiro stopped behind the corner of the robotics lab and shed both of them from the bots and then unlinked from them.

“Why did you drop them?” Ben asked, looking curiously at the pile of Microbots around them.

“Discretion, my friend,” Hiro explained and took the neurotransmitter from his backpack and putting it on.

“What is that?” Ben asked, admiring the silvery headband which had bluish dots on it.

“It’s a neurotransmitter, the original method of control for these guys,” Hiro explained and collected the Microbots to a cube.

“So, it’s the normal people version,” Ben deducted.

“Nowadays yes,” Hiro nodded and started walking toward the front doors.

“Are you allowed to be here before the adults show up?” Ben asked and glanced around warily as Hiro opened the auditorium door.

“Don’t worry about that,” Hiro reassured and turned the lights on.

Ben sighed and hesitantly walked in. ‘I hope that Hiro doesn’t get us into trouble,’ he thought.

He noticed Hiro direct the Microbots to form two circles on the ground. At opposite ends of each, he saw Hiro place pillows.

‘Those must be our arenas,’ Ben thought, ‘but why is Hiro making them?’

Then he noticed Hiro pick up one of the camera tripods and position it such that it was pointing at one of the circles. And then the other camera was positioned to capture the other arena.

‘Is he supposed to touch those?’ Ben wondered.

Finally, Hiro connected the cameras to the AV-system of the auditorium and fired the projector up, which now had a split view of both arenas.

‘That is definitely something he is not allowed to do,’ Ben thought, ‘But on the other hand he seems to know what he is doing.’

And just when Ben thought that Hiro was done, he noticed that Hiro was walking over to a table located on the side of the stage.

Hiro was unpacking his backpack when he noticed Ben staring at him.

“Something wrong?” He asked.

“No, I was just wondering whether you are allowed to be doing all of this,” Ben explained.

“Oh, I guess I should tell you that this is my club,” Hiro revealed.

“So, this is the bot-fighting club you mentioned back then?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, would you help me with this?” Hiro requested, gesturing Ben over.

* * *

Just as Hiro and Ben had gotten the bots laid on the table, they heard a knock on the door.

Hiro went to open the door and as he had suspected, it was Abigail.

“Aah, Abigail,” Hiro greeted the girl when he opened the door.

“Good evening, Hiro. And I see we have a new member in this club of ours,” Abigail noted, nodding toward Ben.

“Yeah, he’s Ben, a technopath like me,” Hiro explained.

“So now we have two. How did you meet him?” Abigail asked curiously.

“Let’s just say that it involved Krei Tech, kidnapping, and shady business,” Hiro answered briefly.

“Ben, come meet my friends,” Hiro called out to the boy, who tried to look busy.

“Do I have to?” Ben asked hesitantly.

“Yes, that’s an order,” Hiro confirmed playfully.

“As you say my lord,” Ben acknowledged and walked over to the two teens.

Abigail tried to suppress his chuckle but failed.

“Anyhow, Ben. This is Abigail, a fellow bot-fighter, who helped me get this place going,” Hiro introduced.

“Nice to meet you, Abigail,” Ben said, Hiro had gotten him through his fear of meeting new people.

“Nice to meet you too, Ben,” Abigail responded and they shook hands.

“Do you have any secrets?” Ben asked intently.

“I do have a super-suit built by Hiro,” Abigail answered, “And Hiro told me you’re a technopath.”

“Yeah, I am,” Ben nodded.

“Just a heads up, my friends from school will come to spectate, and Fred especially wants to meet you,” Hiro informed Ben.

“Why?” Ben asked warily.

“He’s a major comic and sci-fi enthusiast,” Hiro replied, “And I invited the whole group because I like to see the world burn.”

“How so?” Abigail asked.

“You see, Tadashi isn’t really comfortable with me teaching him, and doubly so he doesn’t what our friends knowing,” Hiro grinned devilishly.

“Do your friends know?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, all of them do,” Hiro replied.

“And Ben, I removed the countermeasure from my suit, so if you need to talk with me privately you now can. But no dirty tricks, ok?” Hiro informed.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ben replied.

Hiro then turned off most of the lights and made his suit glow.

* * *

Sometime later there was another knock on the door.

“Hey, guys,” Hiro greeted the nerd gang.

“Is he here?” Fred asked eagerly.

“Stay in your pants Fred,” GoGo elbowed him.

“Ow,” Fred exclaimed.

“Yes, he is. And just FYI, Tadashi will also be here,” Hiro informed them.

“Oh, is he coming to make sure that you don’t do anything reckless?” Wasabi asked.

“Oh, no. I and Abigail are the ones in charge here,” Hiro replied.

“Are you behind this?” Honey Lemon asked.

“Yes, this whole thing was my idea,” Hiro confirmed.

“How?” GoGo asked.

“Let’s just say that Professor Callaghan owed me one,” Hiro replied, “Go on and grab a seat. And Fred, don’t make him uncomfortable.”

“We’ll make sure he doesn’t,” Honey Lemon assured.

Ben decided that he would feel the safest being next to Hiro. He made his way over to where Hiro was standing by the door.

After a few minutes, Hiro noticed Milly arrive with her brother and father.

“Good evening Milly and Jack,” Hiro greeted the siblings, giving their father a small nod.

“Likewise, Hiro,” they shook his hand and walked inside.

Megan arrived almost at that exact moment.

“It’s so good to see you, Hiro,” she said and hugged him.

“Yes, it is,” Hiro agreed.

“So, how are things with Krei Tech?” she inquired.

“All done, he’s here with us,” Hiro replied and smiled happily.

“That’s great,” she sighed and hugged Hiro once more before walking in.

Then finally after a few minutes, Tadashi arrived.

“Come in Dashi,” Hiro said and ushered the flustered big brother in and closing the door afterward.

* * *

Tadashi glanced around the room for any familiar faces, and he froze when he recognized the nerd gang sitting in the second row.

Hiro walked past him and onto the stage, grabbing the microphone in the process.

“Good evening friends. As you should know we have gathered here to do some bot-fighting but also just to hang out since it seems that there are no strangers here tonight,” Hiro began his mini-speech.

“And since I have trusted all of you with my secret previously, there is no reason to hide them here. That includes you as well Ben,” Hiro continued.

“Some of you are here just to hang around and that is totally fine, but I do have some battle-bots for you to use in case you fancy trying. And without further ado, let’s get going,” Hiro finished and put the microphone away.

“Now, who wants to go first?” Hiro asked.

“Me, me,” Jack bounced up and down on his seat.

“Okay, Fanboy. With whom would you like to bot-fight?” Hiro asked.

“You,” he blushed.

“What are you waiting for then? Get down here,” Hiro said and took Megabot and its controller from the table.

“So this is it, the battle-bot, which got you to the top of the underground bot-fighting,” Jack confirmed, looking at Hiro.

“Yes, it is,” Hiro nodded and sat down on one of the pillows, then extending Megabot’s controller.

“That’s a lot of buttons,” Jack noted.

They then began bot-fighting, Hiro went easy on Jack as a courtesy.

* * *

Ben’s POV

Hiro was busy bot-fighting with one of the others, so I just tried to look busy as I didn’t particularly want to meet this Fred-character, whoever he was. But alas, it was not to be as I saw a fairly tall and skinny teen walking toward me.

I didn’t know who he was, neither did I know of his intentions. So I started backing out, but he just kept on following.

The teen kept getting closer and I kept getting more and more scared until I suddenly remembered what Hiro had said earlier. So I felt around for his hum. It took a bit of guesswork, but I eventually found the correct one.

‘Ben, is something wrong?’ Hiro asked before I had the chance to say anything.

‘Yes, I feel scared,’ I responded shakily.

‘Why?’ Hiro asked worriedly.

‘This tall skinny teen keeps following me.’

I could see Hiro look around the auditorium until he located me.

‘I see you. He will learn his lesson.’

And before I could respond I saw Hiro grab the microphone and sed his Microbots toward me.

* * *

Return to General POV

Hiro was getting to the ending portion of his fight with Jack when he felt Ben in his head.

‘Ben, is something wrong?’ Hiro asked.

‘Yes, I feel scared,’ Ben replied shakily.

‘Why?’ Hiro asked worriedly. He didn’t like that Ben felt scared by something or someone.

‘This tall skinny teen keeps following me,’ Ben explained.

‘Fred,’ Hiro thought and stood up.

He looked around the auditorium until he located where Fred was walking toward Ben.

‘I see you. He will learn his lesson,’ Hiro reassured the shaken boy.

Hiro walked over to the microphone while simultaneously sending his Microbots over to Ben.

“Fred, what are you doing?” Hiro asked through the microphone. This got the attention of everyone.

“I just want to meet your friend,” Fred replied.

“Oh, in his opinion you are harassing him,” Hiro revealed.

Hiro then encased Ben in his armor and gave him the black visor, then doing the same for himself, selecting the non-transparent purple visor. He transported Ben over to where he was using the Microbots.

“If you really want to meet him you can do so here,” Hiro replied.

“And GoGo, what happened to the whole keeping Fred under control thing?” Hiro asked.

“Oops, I forgot,” GoGo admitted and looked down in shame.

Hiro then formed a privacy-wall out of his Microbots around him and Ben.

“Shall we swap places?” Hiro whispered lifting off his visor.

“Why?” Ben asked.

“It’ll be fun,” Hiro answered.

“Ok, but won’t they figure it out by our voices?” Ben asked warily.

“Let’s call each other and leave the speaker on while talking using our abilities,” Hiro continued.

“A, I don’t have a phone, and B, how does that help,” Ben rejected,

“That way when I talk it’ll come from your phone, aka me, and vice versa,” Hiro explained.

“I see, but what of the phone problem?” Ben asked, getting the idea.

“I can fix that,” Hiro said and popped his head through the wall of Microbots, then sending them toward Tadashi and finally snatching his phone. Tadashi was totally oblivious to that happening, but based on the snickers coming from other people, it was evident that they did see it.

“Here is a loan phone for you,” Hiro grinned and handed Ben Tadashi’s phone.

“What do I do with it?” Ben asked.

“I want you to connect to it,” Hiro instructed and did so himself.

“Done,” Ben informed when he had connected.

“I will now call you and I want you to pick up and then intercept the microphone,” Hiro continued.

Hiro then did just that, they then adjusted the speaker volume to the minimum.

“Ok, now my voice should be coming from your phone,” Hiro whispered and indeed that was the case.

“It’s working,” Ben agreed and the sound was coming from Hiro’s phone.

Hiro then swapped their visors and they swapped positions before Hiro let the curtain down.

Hiro looked around the room, there were a few curious eyes, but none were looking at them suspiciously.

“Fred, you wanted to meet my friend?” Hiro asked, though his outward appearance was that of Ben’s.

“Oh, yes,” Ben exclaimed and practically sprinted to where the two boys were.

Hiro in the meantime ordered his Microbots to grab Megabot and bring it to him. He pretended to be surprised by its appearance, but then took it gladly and started playing with it.

“Which of you is Ben?” Fred asked, looking at Hiro clad as Ben and then to the other.

“I am,” Ben replied, the sound coming from Hiro’s phone.

“Why are you talking through the phone?” Fred asked curiously.

“He had to learn that skill at some point,” Hiro replied.

“So, Ben. You’re a technopath, right?” Fred confirmed.

“Yes, I am, though nowhere as advanced as Hiro is,” Ben answered truthfully.

“Would you show me what you can do?” Fred asked eagerly.

“You have already seen Fred. There is literally nothing new he could show you,” Hiro pointed out.

“Would you show me your beautiful green eyes?” Fred asked.

“Is it just me, or is Fred flirting with you?” Hiro asked.

“Me? Flirting? Never,” Fred exclaimed.

Hiro then linked directly to Ben’s mind and asked him to ask Fred to look closely and to close his eyes.

“Sure, but I want you to look closely,” Ben said.

Fred put his face closer, his nose almost touching Hiro’s black visor.

“Is this good?” Fred asked.

“Yes, now close your eyes,” Ben requested.

Fred did as told. This was Hiro’s cue to order the Microbots off his head.

There were a few amused faces looking at them now, some of them almost at the point of no return.

“You can open your eyes now,” Ben said.

Fred did so and when he recognized Hiro’s face, he stumbled a few steps backward.

“Surprise, Fred!” Hiro exclaimed. The look of confusion and shock on Fred’s face hit his funny bone particularly hard and he started roaring with laughter. Ben joining in soon after.

“What just happened?” Fred asked.

“You just got tricked,” Hiro explained the obvious.

“But…but why?” Fred stammered.

“Cause it was fun,” Hiro answered as if it was obvious.

Hiro then grabbed Tadashi’s phone from Ben and tossed it at Tadashi who caught it.

“Thanks for the loan,” Hiro called out.

Tadashi was totally confused about the whole thing, which elicited a few laughs from people.

After a bit, things settled down and people went back to what they were doing before this whole episode.

* * *

Close to closing time.

“All right, I think it’s time to head home,” Hiro said when he looked at the clock.

“Okay then,” Milly said and hugged Hiro tightly, “See you next week.”

“Definitely,” Hiro agreed.

Jack was content with just shaking Hiro’s hand.

Then Abigail and Tadashi left and finally Hiro left with Ben.

* * *

At Ben’s home

“Text me when you get your new phone, okay?” Hiro asked as he was about to leave.

“I will,” Ben agreed.

They hugged each other before Hiro took off to the night.

* * *

Hiro had arrived home and was just about to head to bed when he got the feeling of ‘Am I forgetting something important?’

“Tadashi, is there anything special I should be remembering?” Hiro asked.

“I don’t think so,” Tadashi answered, “Why do you ask?”

“I just have this feeling like I'm forgetting something important,” Hiro explained.

“I'm sure it’s nothing major,” Tadashi reassured.

“I hope you’re right,” Hiro sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Something not so nice happens.
> 
> Note: I'm not super happy with how the title and the content correlate with each other. This chapter will probably get extended at some point.


	39. I Knew I Forgot Something Important

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro messes about with his friends in a group chat, but then something worrisome happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~1300 words

It was Saturday and Hiro had just finished eating lunch with his aunt and Tadashi when his phone buzzed with an incoming text message. He read it quickly using his innate ability.

* * *

Ben: Hi, Hiro! I just got my new phone.

Hiro: I Noticed that. ;) Hold on, I’ll invite you to our group chat.

Ben: Cool, and could I swing by at some point? I really want to try those doughnuts Megan told me about yesterday.

Hiro: Sure, we're open all day.

* * *

Bot-fighters and Superheroes Group Chat

<Techie (Hiro) invited “The Apprentice (Ben)”>

Techie (Hiro): And so he shall be part of the squad.

The Apprentice (Ben): So, who is in here?

Iron Lady (Abigail): Hello Ben! It was nice meeting you yesterday.

Fanboy (Jack): How come I'm the only one with a lame name!?

Milly: Cause you deserve to have it so.

Fanboy (Jack): But I don’t like it.

Techie (Hiro): Too bad, I'm the authority here.

Fanboy (Jack): Yes, Captain.

The Apprentice (Ben): Who came up with these names?

The Apprentice (Ben): Whoever it was is a total nutcase.

Megan: They are of Hiro's making.

The Apprentice (Ben): I'm so sorry Hiro. I didn’t mean to insult you.

Techie (Hiro): I’ll think of your punishment later. ;)

Techie (Hiro): But seriously though thanks for the apology.

The Apprentice (Ben): Are you serious or are you playing with me?

Techie (Hiro): I could be serious or I could be playing along, who knows. ;)

Hiro couldn’t help but chuckle at how petty he was.

The Apprentice (Ben): Now your definitely playing with me.

Techie (Hiro): You got me. I was playing with you…

Iron Lady (Abigail): Ooh, the suspense.

Techie (Hiro): …but now I'm doing it for real.

<Hiro nicknamed Ben “Humiliate me! =>” for ten minutes.>

Humiliate me! => (Ben): Oh, no.

Dashi: That’s cruel.

Milly: And genius.

Fanboy (Jack): I was wrong. That is the worst name.

Techie (Hiro): Don’t worry. You can have your very own.

Fanboy (Jack): Please don’t. I will never complain about the name thing again.

Iron Lady (Abigail): Humiliate me! =>, do you have a crush on Tadashi?

Dashi: Abigail, you can’t ask a question like that!!!

Hiro crept closer to Tadashi’s side of the room and snapped a sneaky photo of the flustered teen.

Techie (Hiro): Congrats Iron Lady, you managed to totally fluster Dashi.

[Image of flustered Tadashi (use your imagination)]

Dashi: Hiro, you little devil!

Techie (Hiro): Too bad, you should have known that that was coming.

[Image of Hiro sticking his tongue out tauntingly.]

Dashi: I swear I'm going to beat you up.

Techie (Hiro): Ooh, ouch. Go right on ahead. Though if I was you, I’d avoid confrontations with me at all costs.

* * *

Tadashi was just about to say something out loud when Aunt Cass entered their room.

“Hiro, do you have any idea why does the police want to talk to you?” she asked.

“No I do not,” Hiro replied sincerely.

Hiro followed Aunt Cass downstairs, Tadashi being close behind. Chief Cruz was waiting for them in the café.

“You’re Hiro Hamada?” The police chief verified.

“Yes, I am. Chief Cruz,” Hiro confirmed.

“Now, you are being suspected of an attempted bank robbery,” Chief Cruz informed.

“Excuse me, what?!” All three of the Hamadas exclaimed at once.

“And why are the police suspecting me?” Hiro asked.

“Well, some of your Microbots were found on the scene of the crime,” the chief explained.

“I see. That is a valid reason to suspect me, but how…” Hiro trailed off as he suddenly remembered what happened a few weeks ago.

“Bloody hell! I knew I forgot something important,” Hiro exclaimed in exasperation.

The three others looked at him in confusion.

“How many Microbots were there?” Hiro asked. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

“We didn’t count them but why do you ask?” Chief Cruz replied.

“Two weeks ago some of them disappeared mysteriously, and I completely forgot about it,” Hiro said, slamming his head repeatedly against the table in frustration with himself. *thunk* *thunk* *thunk*

This would have probably continued for a while longer if Tadashi had not pulled Hiro away from the table.

“I understand, but it is a little late to report them stolen after a crime has been committed,” Chief Cruz said apologetically.

“No, I do know that. I'm more so trying to figure out who set me up,” Hiro mumbled.

“But if I have to go to jail in the meanwhile then I won’t resist,” he added.

“Jail? Surely that won’t be necessary,” Aunt Cass worried.

“I wish it wasn’t but rules are rules,” Chief Cruz sighed.

“Let’s leave then. And Tadashi, tell my friends and I trust you to figure who did this. I’d start with Little Yama,” Hiro instructed his dumbstruck brother.

Tadashi just nodded unable to find any words.

“Oh, and you should have this since I won’t be able to have it either,” Hiro said and tossed his phone to his brother.

* * *

Five minutes later

“So, that just happened,” Tadashi finally managed to say.

He looked around and noticed Aunt Cass stress eating doughnuts like crazy.

He went over to his aunt and hugged her.

“Oh, Tadashi. What are we going to do?” she asked.

“Don’t worry Aunt Cass. I will figure out who did this to Hiro,” Tadashi comforted. “But now I need to inform his friends of the situation,” Tadashi continued and headed to their room.

Once he got there, he opened their group chat. He was suddenly thankful that Hiro had added him as well.

* * *

Bot-fighters and Superheroes Group Chat

Dashi: EMERGENCY! READ ASAP!

Iron Lady (Abigail): Tadashi, what is going on?

Milly: What’s the emergency?

The Apprentice (Ben): Is Hiro in trouble?

Megan: What’s the matter? I hope you’re alright.

Dashi: Hiro just got arrested by the police.

Megan: What the hell!?

Iron Lady (Abigail): Why?

Dashi: He is suspected of an attempted bank robbery.

Milly: How can they make such accusations?

Dashi: Someone had set him up. Remember when Hiro asked about those Microbots two weeks ago? Someone carried them to the bank and tripped the alarm.

Megan: Do we have any idea who it could have been?

Dashi: Hiro said to start from “Little Yama.”

Megan: That makes sense. Yama is his only adversary.

Dashi: And by the way Megan. Your dad personally came to collect Hiro.

Megan: Good to know. I will interrogate him when he arrives home.

Iron Lady (Abigail): And I will tell my dad to keep his ears open in case Yama blurts something out by accident.

Dashi: And I will ask my friends to do the same.

The Apprentice (Ben): We should set up a rotation on who will visit Hiro on which day.

Dashi: Oh, yeah. I don’t want to think where his mind will wander if he feels alone. And OH GOD, he is completely alone right now.

Megan: I’m sure that he will pull through.

Dashi: Yeah, I hope so too. Let’s just hope that he doesn’t break. Megan, I think you should visit him tomorrow, and Hiro gets to decide who will come on the next day.

Megan: I will do that. I will even skip school if it is needed to get Hiro free.

Dashi: Great, that’s settled then. Yama hunt will start on Monday.

* * *

Meanwhile with Hiro

Hiro was mulling over his situation while sitting in the back seat of Chief Cruz’s police cruiser. Then suddenly the irony of how eventful his life had been since the showcase fire. He couldn’t help but laugh slightly.

“Why are you laughing?” Chief Cruz asked curiously.

“I was just thinking how crazy my life has been recently,” Hiro explained.

“How so?” Chief Cruz asked.

“You know, brother almost burning to a crisp, almost committing suicide, starting college, meeting a girl of my age at the college, saving a rebellious bot-fighter from thugs, and now I'm being arrested for something I have not done,” Hiro listed, filtering out everything relating to his abilities or Krei Tech. “And all of this has happened since the fire at SFIT,” he added.

“You sure have had an eventful month,” Cruz chuckled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I foreshadowed this happening all the way back in chapter 25.


	40. In the Jail and Megan’s Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro is taken to his cell. Megan starts unraveling the mystery. And as a case of bad luck, nature has decided to torment Hiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hyped to be writing a new story arc for a change. The previous one was getting a little dull.
> 
> ~1300 words

Hiro and Chief Cruz had just arrived at the San Fransokyo police station and Chief Cruz was escorting Hiro to his cell, where he would be living for the time being.

“This is your room,” Chief Cruz said as he opened one of the secure doors.

Hiro surveyed the room. There were a toilet and a sink next to it. Then there was a small desk and a plastic chair. And finally, there was a simple metal frame bed. On the wall, Hiro noticed a clock. Honestly, it was fairly similar to his room at Krei Tech minus the computer, and the toilet being in the same room.

“It could be worse,” Hiro noted aloud.

“Where have you seen worse?” Cruz asked.

“At Krei Tech, though let’s not go into that at the moment,” Hiro replied.

“I know that you are only 14 and most likely innocent. And as such, I would like to make your stay as comfortable as possible. So, is there anything which you would like to have?” Cruz asked.

“Sketching tools. Notebook, pencils, sharpener, eraser, things like that,” Hiro listed.

“I will get those to you momentarily,” he nodded.

“Good. And Megan will probably bombard you with questions when you get home, just be prepared,” Hiro forewarned.

“Oh, I'm so screwed,” Chief Cruz sighed.

“Anyway, just don’t forget to bring those supplies,” Hiro reminded and walked over to the bed.

“I won't. And I'm really sorry that you have to go through this,” the chief said apologetically.

“Yeah, it’s a shame I don’t get to be part of the fun while my friends figure out who did it. Though maybe this happening could cause them to brag about it,” Hiro figured.

“Well, I’ll leave now,” Chief Cruz said and started closing the door.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be on the correct side of that door soon enough,” Hiro said.

The door closed and Hiro was alone but he wasn’t thinking about that. Instead, he was going through an epiphany. He now knew exactly what he will be doing when he gets his freedom back. He knew that Tadashi would probably be against it. But Hiro was always the winner in those arguments since Tadashi had learned that Hiro would do it anyway.

Hiro then spent the rest of the day mentally designing a super-suit for Jack since he had practically finished designing Ben’s previously and Milly and Megan wouldn’t be needing them since they would not be operating on the field. He only paused when someone delivered him his dinner. And to Hiro’s dismay, Chief Cruz forgot to get him what he had asked.

* * *

Meantime with Megan

Megan was absolutely shocked by what was going on and she was determined to get to the bottom of this. The first step was to question her dad and she knew exactly how she would get the most out of him. Thus she headed to the Lucky Cat Café.

“Oh, Megan, what brings you here?” Aunt Cass asked.

“I’m here to buy my dad’s favorite doughnuts,” Megan explained.

“Why didn’t he come himself?” Aunt Cass asked.

“A, he’s at work. And B, these are for me to eat in case he refuses to talk,” Megan flashed a devilish grin.

“But why?” Aunt Cass asked.

“My boyfriend was arrested for something he has not done. And my dad is the chief of the whole department. He will know everything related to it,” Megan explained.

She then headed to Hiro’s room, where Tadashi was chatting with his friend group. She grabbed Megabot and its controller from the table. Her reasoning? “I will get Hiro his favorite toy at the very least.”

She headed back home and placed the doughnuts and Megabot on the kitchen table. Then she retrieved her laptop and started working on a draft for the news article she would write when this whole debacle was over.

She put her laptop away when she heard the front door open around 9 PM.

“Hi, darling, how has your day been?” Chief Cruz asked when he walked to the kitchen where Megan was waiting for him.

“Oh, you know. Heading out to buy some doughnuts, while also getting something for a friend. And then drafting my next news article,” Megan replied nonchalantly. “Oh, yes and also learning that my boyfriend has been arrested for no reason.”

“You got doughnuts? Which ones?” Chief Cruz asked curiously.

“The best ones obviously, you know the ones by my boyfriend’s aunt,” Megan replied. She could see the desire in her dad’s eyes.

“But you won't be getting any unless…,” she added.

“Let me guess. You want me to tell you everything about what happened, don’t you?” Chief Cruz asked.

“Maybe,” Megan teased.

“Fine, let’s start with what you already know,” he suggested.

“We know that Hiro was framed for attempted bank robbery. And that Hiro suspects that his school bully is behind it,” Megan listed.

*Distant thunder*

“We also know that Hiro is deathly afraid of thunder,” Megan added, remembering that Hiro had told her that. (A/N: Addition to Chapter 20, not updated at the time of writing.)

“What does that have to do with this?” her dad asked.

“Hiro told me one time we met that he becomes completely dysfunctional when it thunders. He said that he ends up hiding under his blankets if he is alone. And Hiro is utterly alone right now with nothing to distract himself with,” Megan explained.

“That’s not good. And…Oh no, I totally forgot about Hiro’s request,” Chief Cruz exclaimed.

“What did he request?” Megan asked concernedly.

“Just some office supplies,” her dad answered.

“Good, I mean bad that you forgot but there is also this,” Megan said pointing to Megabot.

“What is that?” Her dad asked.

“It’s Megabot, Hiro’s favorite toy,” Megan explained.

“And you want me to…” her dad started.

“I want you to take me there tomorrow morning so that I can give it to him personally along with some of my supplies,” Megan finished his sentence.

“I suppose I have no other option; I already broke my promise to him once,” he sighed.

“Now, what do you know?” Megan inquired.

Her dad then told her what he knew, which honestly wasn’t much. Only that the alarm had been tripped and that they had found the Microbots there, no fingerprints or anything.

“Thanks, Dad, I suppose you can have your doughnuts,” Megan said and slid over the box.

* * *

Meanwhile with Hiro

*Distant thunder*

‘Oh, crap, thunder,’ Hiro thought when he heard the distant rumble. ‘Why did it have to be on the day when Tadashi cannot be here to comfort me.’

Then suddenly lyrics from a song he had heard recently popped into his head.

///

I feel a little scared.

A storm is coming.

The Thunder’s breaking…

Upon us.

Now I don’t understand.

But I fear the danger.

The static and the sparks…

Can hold.

///

*Loud thunder*

Hiro jumped on his bed and buried himself in his blanket and pillow.

///

What have you done?

///

‘Nothing, I have done nothing to deserve this,’ Hiro thought.

///

What is in the darkest water?

///

‘Suicide. Suicide is at the bottom of the pit,’ Hiro answered the question.

///

I'm scared to death that…

I won't make it out if here alive.

Did somebody say?

I feel we’re sinking with more…

Speed the more we strive.

///

(A/N: See endnotes for source.)

‘Totally, the more I try to not think about the thunder the more I think about it,’ Hiro thought and rolled his eyes.

*Super loud thunder*

Hiro cried out in fear and dug himself deeper in his bed and tried his damndest to fall asleep, but the thunder would strike just as he was about to fall asleep, and eventually, he just gave up on trying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the song the lyrics are from: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiRZVAO2XbQ>.
> 
> When I first heard this song I immediately thought that it would fit in this context.  
> The idea of Hiro being scared of thunder comes from another fanfic here on the archive, but I for the life of me don't remember its name.   
> ~~I might dig through my history tomorrow if I remember.~~ Found it! [Rainy Days](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4051099)
> 
> Next time: Tadashi's and Abigail's Saturday and Hiro's and Megan's Sunday morning.


	41. Recruiting More Eyes and Little Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tadashi shares the news with his school friends. Megan also visits Hiro delivering him the supplies and Megabot. While there Hiro shares his plan for what is to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~2300 words

Tadashi was worried for Hiro. He feared that Hiro would not make it through this without long-lasting problems. Though one part of him did think that at least Hiro wouldn’t be getting into trouble, while he was in jail. He suppressed those thoughts immediately and he felt a bit ashamed even thinking about such things.

He decided to set up a group chat between his school friends.

* * *

SFIT Nerds Group Chat

<Tadashi Created group “SFIT Nerds”>

<Tadashi Invited “Abigail”>

<Tadashi Invited “Fred”>

<Tadashi Invited “GoGo”>

<Tadashi Invited “Honey Lemon”>

<Tadashi Invited “Hiro”>

<Tadashi Invited “Wasabi”>

 **Abigail** : Oh, Tadashi. Was one group not enough?

 **Tadashi** : Even if I wanted to invite them there. I couldn’t since Hiro is the admin there.

 **Abigail** : Fair enough.

 **Fred** : Dude, Tadashi!

 **Fred** : Was not expecting you of all people to set up a group chat.

 **Fred** : I thought of you as more of the DM type of person.

 **Honey Lemon:** Hello, Tadashi, how has your day been?

 **GoGo** : Yeah, what’s going on? It’s not you to group chat.

 **Wasabi** : Is Hiro okay?

 **Tadashi** : I hope that he is but I worry that he will not be.

 **Honey** **Lemon** : Oh? What do you mean?

 **GoGo** : What did he do this time?

 **Wasabi** : Did he go bot-fighting?

 **Fred** : Did a villain figure his abilities out and kidnapped him?

 **GoGo:** No, Fred! This is not the time for stupid jokes.

 **Tadashi** : Hiro has done nothing wrong, rather someone did him wrong.

 **Wasabi** : Where is Hiro now? I want to talk with him.

 **Tadashi** : I'm afraid that it’s not possible at the moment. He doesn’t even have his phone with him. And Fred is partially right, it was a kidnapping of sorts.

 **GoGo** : Of sorts? What the heck is that supposed to mean?

 **Tadashi** : It was a legal kidnapping by the police.

 **Wasabi** : Do you mean that Hiro got arrested?

 **Tadashi** : Yes.

 **Honey** **Lemon** : I hope that he is okay.

 **GoGo** : Why did he get arrested?

 **Tadashi** : He got framed for an attempted bank robbery.

 **Wasabi** : Who could be that wicked?

 **Honey** **Lemon** : What can we do to help?

 **Tadashi** : Hiro suspects that Yama the bully might be behind it. And as such I want you to keep your eyes and ears open in case that he brags about it.

 **Fred** : I'm in.

 **Honey** **Lemon** : Me too.

 **GoGo** : Count me in.

 **Wasabi** : Of course I will help.

 **Tadashi** : Thanks, guys. I will let you guys know when we know more.

* * *

A few hours later Tadashi was disturbed from his reading by Megan when she entered the room.

“Oh, hi Megan,” Tadashi greeted. “What brings you here?”

“I'm just grabbing Megabot for Hiro along with some doughnuts to use for leverage against my dad,” Megan explained and smiled evilly. In Tadashi’s opinion, it was eerily similar to Hiro’s smile of similar meaning.

“That’s good,” Tadashi nodded before returning to his book.

“How are you holding up by the way?” Megan asked curiously.

“Stressed out and worried but otherwise fine,” Tadashi smiled.

“So not that fine,” Megan chuckled. “Hiro will make it through this and after he does, he will be even stronger.”

“I know. And thanks Megan,” Tadashi said quietly.

Megan smiled and left.

* * *

*Distant thunder*

Tadashi was shaken from his thought by the rumbling and his thought immediately went to Hiro. He felt guilty that he couldn’t be there to comfort Hiro, who he knew would be absolutely terrified when the thunder came closer.

Tadashi reminded himself to make this up to Hiro when he would be back home.

* * *

Abigail

Abigail sighed heavily. She did not expect to feel so bad about Hiro's situation, but she supposed that she owed him quite a lot. After all, it was due to his direct doing that she even had parents right now, and she wondered how long it would take for Hiro to save her from a sticky situation.

Abigail had been doing homework when she got the information about Hiro being in trouble. ‘Those can wait for now,’ she thought as she glanced over at the pile of school books. Instead, she left her room and went to find her dad, whom she found grading exams.

“Aah, Abigail, did you get your homework done?” Robert asked.

“No I did not, as there is a more urgent matter at hand,” Abigail answered.

“Oh, what is it?” he asked.

“Well, Hiro is in quite a pickle,” she revealed.

“How so?” he asked.

“Someone framed him for a failed bank robbery,” Abigail dropped the bombshell.

“That’s bad, but who could have done it?” he asked frowning.

“What I heard is that Hiro suspects that Yama could have done it, and that makes sense because normal Hiro doesn’t have any other adversaries,” Abigail told his father.

“Not Yama again,” Robert groaned. “I will keep my eyes and ears open for anything out of the ordinary at school.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Abigail said and hugged him before heading back to her room to continue the schoolwork.

* * *

Ben

Ben was totally shocked by the developments and he worried for Hiro a lot. After all, he had no knowledge of what kind of cell Hiro was kept in and he couldn’t resist the fear of it potentially being as bad as his cell had been back then.

He also felt bad that he couldn’t do anything about Hiro’s situation. A major part of this was because he regarded Hiro as his hero, who had saved him from endless suffering. He wanted to have some way of returning the favor but at the moment he didn’t have any.

* * *

Hiro

It was Sunday morning and Hiro was bored. He had slept fairly well considering the situation. Though last night's thunder had kept him awake until two in the morning, thus he was not in the best of moods. He stared at the security camera, which was looking at him with its mechanical eye.

Suddenly Hiro got an idea. He walked over to the camera and pressed his hand on the piece of trunking which contained the camera’s wiring. He felt around and found the camera, and instead of following the wire to the monitoring station, he followed it to the camera.

Hiro could now see what the camera saw, the spectrum of which he realized to be slightly wider than what his own eyes were capable of. This got him thinking, “What if I incorporated miniature multispectral cameras to my Microbots, then I could see things in a totally different light.” (A/N: Totally foreshadowing here. :))

Hiro was pulled from his thought when he heard the clunking of the cell door.

* * *

Megan, ten or so minutes earlier

Megan was packing some of her journalist supplies into her backpack. Notebook, pencils, eraser, sharpener, ruler, and a compass. She also packed Megabot and its controller in there.

* * *

Bot-fighters and Superheroes Group Chat

 **Megan** : Is there anything you would like me to ask/tell Hiro?

 **Dashi** : Yes, tell him that I feel bad for him for having to be alone in a thunderstorm.

 **The** **Apprentice** **(Ben)** : Ask him what he thinks of his cell. I have these irrational fears that it’s as bad as what I had to go through.

 **Megan** : I will do that.

* * *

“Come on dad, let’s go already,” Megan urged.

“I'm coming,” her dad replied and started pulling on his jacket.

Megan grabbed her backpack, walked out of their house, and over to her dad’s car. Soon they were on their way toward the police station.

* * *

Megan was waiting eagerly as her dad was fumbling with the door. When the door opened, she saw Hiro looking at them like his train of thought had just been interrupted, though that only lasted for a second.

“Oh, Hi Megan. Wasn’t expecting you to come here,” Hiro greeted.

“Well, someone had to. Since some people can’t be trusted with fulfilling simple requests,” Megan said and gave her dad a stink eye.

“Right, what do you have?” Hiro asked curiously.

“I got you these supplies,” Megan said and took the supplies from her backpack.

“Thanks, Megan, you’re a lifesaver,” Hiro grinned and placed the supplies on the table.

Hiro hopped on his bed and sat legs crossed facing away from the door. Megan followed suit and sat across from Hiro.

“So, do you have a plan?” Hiro asked.

“Yeah, all of your friends at school will be on the lookout come tomorrow,” Megan answered. Hiro nodded approvingly.

“How did you fare last night?” Megan asked concernedly.

“I’ve been better. Kept me awake until two in the morning,” Hiro answered honestly.

“Poor kid,” Megan consoled. “Oh, and Tadashi feels bad for you having to be alone while it was thundering.”

“He shouldn’t but I appreciate it nonetheless and I'm not a kid,” Hiro exclaimed. He hated being called childish names. Though from the outside he looked like some regular old kid, on the inside he was way more.

“I know you’re not,” Megan calmed him. “I know you’re on the edge at the moment and I shouldn’t push it any further.”

Hiro placed his hand invitingly on the bed between them and Megan took the hint and grabbed hold. Hiro then felt around for Megan’s outgoing and expressive hum. Hiro then thought how this was the second time they met in private it and chuckled.

“What’re you laughing about?” Megan asked playfully.

“I was just thinking. This is only the second time that we meet one on one,” Hiro explained. “In a jail cell no less.”

“Yeah, you’ve been kind of busy recently,” Megan pointed out.

“I’d like to change that,” Hiro smiled and connected.

‘What do you want to talk about privately?’ Megan asked raising an eyebrow.

‘I’ve been thinking,’ Hiro started.

‘About lemons?’ Megan asked as she recognized that quote from that one videogame.

(A/N: Comment down below if you know what this references.)

‘Funny but no,’ Hiro shook his head. ‘I have to say that this may sound a bit crazy, but I assure you that I'm not crazy.’

‘Go ahead,’ Megan beckoned Hiro to continue.

Hiro took a deep breath before continuing, ‘So, you know how it has been on the news that the police are overwhelmed by the amount of crime on the streets?’

‘I do, but what does that have to do with this?’ Megan nodded.

‘Well, I was thinking that we as in us and our friends could help out with that,’ Hiro revealed.

‘What do you mean? How could we do that?’ Megan asked bewildered.

‘I mean that we would form a great superhero group. And I could tap into the emergency prewarning system that’s recently been implemented, we go in, do what is necessary and then leave the rest for the proper authorities,’ Hiro explained his idea.

‘But how could we do anything, we’re just us,’ Megan protested lightly.

‘No. You can be way more,’ Hiro interjected. ‘Besides not everyone has to be on the field, you could do the media side.’

(A/N: Yay, movie quote.)

‘What would I be doing?’ Megan asked, slightly intrigued. The mention of ‘media’ got her attention.

‘You would get to write articles about mysterious heroes saving the city from whatever is happening. And you can do it from the comfort of your own bedroom if you like,’ Hiro teased. He could see Megan’s eyes light up at the prospect.

‘You still didn’t answer what would make us superheroes,’ Megan pointed out.

‘I have my Microbots, Ben and I have our abilities as do you, Abigail has her Iron Lady suit and Tadashi has his protective armor, which leaves only Milly’s brother left, and I have a few ideas for that,’ Hiro enlightened.

‘What about the girl herself and did you say that you would tap into the emergency prewarning system, isn’t that illegal?’ Megan asked and raised her eyebrow majorly.

‘She could help you with the articles if both of you are fine with it. And as for the tapping, well. It’s actually an open system, anyone can read what is on it, but only select people, who have required permissions can add new items,’ Hiro answered her questions. ‘So no, it isn’t illegal to tap into it. After all, it's beneficial to know ahead of time that for example that a terrorist attack or an earthquake might happen soon, just to get out of dodge.’

‘So, are you saying that we would become some sort of rapid response force?’ Megan asked.

‘Something like that,’ Hiro smiled.

‘I’m so proud of you,’ Megan launched herself into a hug. This startled Hiro enough for his connection to sever.

“Thanks, Megan,” Hiro responded out loud. “I knew you would understand.”

“I'm totally going to go along with you,” Megan replied excitedly. “Oh, that reminds me. I got you something else as well.”

“You got me my dear Megabot,” Hiro smiled.

“How did you know?” Megan asked nudging Hiro lightly.

“What? I obviously read your thoughts,” Hiro replied sarcastically.

Megan shot him a “that’s bold with dad right there”-look before depositing the rest of the contents of her backpack onto the table. Hiro just laughed lightheartedly and turned to look toward the door where Megan’s dad was looking somewhat puzzled.

“Is something wrong Chief Cruz,” Hiro asked innocently.

“No, no, everything’s fine,” the chief responded.

“Well, we probably have to get going,” Megan spoke up. “Don’t worry Hiro, we will get you out of this.”

“I know you will and thank you,” Hiro replied. “And don’t tell the others about that hug, ok,” He added and winked.

Megan got the hint and smiled before she got up and walked over to her dad.

Hiro was alone once more, though this time he had things to preoccupy himself with. Thus he sat on the chair and began sketching Jack’s super suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Hiro designs some upgrades for the super suits. Meanwhile, Hiro's friends are hunting Yama.


	42. Sketching and Catching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro designs upgrades to super suits. Elsewhere Tadashi catches Yama due to his big mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~1200 words

Hiro was pondering what Jack’s suit should look like. He wanted it to be distinct enough where it wouldn’t look like a copy of his suit, he just couldn’t get any ideas together.

His thought started drifting and they eventually landed on one particular time when Tadashi had pranked him on his birthday, by gifting him a pair of pink socks. Obviously, Tadashi also had a proper present for Hiro, even so, it had been embarrassing, to say the least. (A/N: This totally has material for something.)

Hiro had a breakthrough; he would create Jack a bright pink suit similar to his own.

_But how I prevent him from taking it off?_

_Easy, I’ll just make it lockable with a lock only a technopath can open._

_But how on earth will I get him to wear it in the first place?_

* * *

Several hours later.

*Thunk* *Thunk* *Thunk*

Hiro was banging his head on the desk in frustration. He needed to find a way to deceive Jack into his suit, but his brain was drawing blanks, nothing, absolutely nothing.

He decided to take a small break and he let his thought wander once more. This time they wandered to a time when Hiro was visiting a theme park. There was this one building that had these trippy three-dimensional objects.

They were designed such that when viewed from a certain angle they would blend into the background seamlessly. Hiro remembered that he had made a comment about chameleons and how people usually misinterpreted the reason for their color change.

_Chameleons…That’s it, a cloth which can change its color on demand. ChameleonCloth™._

* * *

Only a few hours later

“This should work,” Hiro exclaimed out loud when he had finished the drawings for the chameleon cloth.

_So, I now have a way of deceiving getting him in, and keeping him in his suit, that could be an interesting punishment idea. I have to talk to Milly about this when I get it finished,_

_Now there is one more pressing issue. How on earth am I going to disassociate Microbots from me?_

* * *

Several hours of headbanging later.

Hiro was getting desperate. This was the second time today that his head refused to cooperate. He decided to once again to take a break and let his thoughts wander around. That had worked the previous two times.

His thought took him to a time when he had polished a lot of small aluminium disks to a super shiny finish. when he had poured them into a pile on the table, he had been amazed that their form was very hard to figure out.

_That’s it. The highly reflective surface will mess with anyone’s eyes. And I should be able to do it with a minor modification to the Chameleon cloth._

* * *

Few short hours later.

Hiro was happy with how he had solved this situation. He looked at the clock and realized that it was already time to go to sleep.

_If in the best possible case Yama won't be able to keep his mouth shut and I will be out of here sometime tomorrow. Then I will have to see if my calculations prove correct or not._

Hiro then fell asleep exhausted from the day of brainstorming.

* * *

Monday morning at SFIT.

Tadashi and his friends had agreed that they would spread out to cover as wide of an area as possible. But as it turned out, that wasn’t entirely necessary as Yama was so unaware of his surroundings that he didn’t even notice that someone was filming him. This led to a wonderful scene during lunch when Tadashi heard Yama blabber with his mates. He quickly grabbed his phone and started recording when he heard the bully in question say, “You’ll never guess what I did on Friday night.”

**Mate** **1** : What did you do?

**Mate** **2** : Yeah, tell us.

**Yama** : Remember that kid who stood up to us? Zero, was it?

**Mate** **1** : Yeah.

**Mate** **2** : That was scary.

**Yama** : Well, he will go to prison.

**Mate** **1** : Why?

**Mate** **2** : What did you do?

**Yama** : I framed him for a bank robbery.

**Mate** **1** : Your joking, right?

**Yama** : I'm serious, I really did so.

Tadashi ended the recording. If this didn’t prove Hiro innocent then nothing would.

Tadashi told his friends to tell Professor Callaghan where he was going. He then took off on his scooter toward the police station.

Before doing so, Tadashi sent a message to Hiro’s Group Chat.

* * *

Bot-fighters and Superheroes Group Chat

**Dashi** : I got the evidence we need. Where are you, Megan?

**Megan** : Great! I'm actually at the station with my dad.

**Dashi** : Ok, I'm on my way there, see you soon.

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben)** : I hope that it’s good.

**Milly** : Likewise.

It didn’t take long for Tadashi to arrive at the station, where Megan and Chief Cruz were waiting for him.

“So, you found out something related to this?” Chief Cruz asked.

“I did, or more precisely I heard the man himself say it out loud,” Tadashi confirmed.

“What did he say?” The chief asked.

“Listen for yourself,” Tadashi said and started the video.

“Well, it’s pretty much case closed at this point,” the chief said when the video ended.

“I thought as much,” Tadashi agreed.

“If you just email it to me then we can get our poor victim back to his regular life. And I'm fairly certain that this perpetrator will face criminal charges,” the chief said.

Tadashi sent the video to the chief as he had asked. They then started heading toward the cell where Hiro had been living through the weekend.

* * *

Hiro was sitting on his bed playing with Megabot when he heard the door clanking. He was hopeful that it could be his rescue, he wasn’t disappointed. When the door opened he saw Tadashi waiting eagerly, and before the older teen knew it Hiro was already hugging him.

“I knew you would crack the case,” Hiro cuddled into Tadashi’s chest.

“How did you know I came here because of that?” Tadashi asked and hugged Hiro back.

It was needless to say that they had both missed each other very much.

“You wouldn’t rush here in the middle of your school day for no reason,” Hiro pointed out the obvious.

“How about we go home and rest after this whole debacle,” Tadashi suggested.

“Yeah, and I have a crap ton of tinkering to do,” Hiro said and went over to pick up the notebook and Megabot’s things.

“Thank’s for the loan,” Hiro said to Megan as he handed the pencils and stuff back.

“No problem Hiro,” Megan smiled.

Hiro then traded a hug with her before he departed with Tadashi.

* * *

They arrived home and went into the café. Before Hiro could get a word out aunt Cass was on him already.

“Are you okay?” She asked worriedly.

“I’m perfectly fine Aunt Cass,” Hiro responded and pushed past her.

“Are you now free?” She asked after him.

“Yes, and the bully will probably go to prison,” Hiro said as he walked up the stairs and into their bedroom. He immediately flopped onto his bed and connected to his Microbots.

‘I missed this so much,’ Hiro thought as he made the Microbots do whatever his mind came up with.

After a few hours of resting, Hiro went to the garage to start the immense task of making his inventions a reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Hiro upgrades super suits.


	43. Super-Suit Upgrades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro upgrades existing super-suits and creates new ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~1300 words

Hiro was in the garage experimenting with the chameleon cloth. This was the seventh test, and he was hopeful that this would be the one.

What happened to the previous six, you may ask?

Well, the first prototype disintegrated in Hiro’s hands, leaving a mess of Kevlar fibers behind.

The second one held together, but when Hiro tried to change its color, it shorted out completely.

The third one was entirely too corrosive. It turned out that when Hiro changed the color, it became highly corrosive. Thus, it ate itself out of existence.

The fourth one went up in flames.

The fifth? It technically worked but there was a slight issue. It could only be toggled five times before it would have to be re-treated. Not ideal for something which is supposed to adapt to a multitude of environments.

The sixth prototype was showing promise until Hiro tested its water resistance. Zero, it stopped working in the most spectacular way possible. It quite literally became rainbow cloth, cycling through colors of the rainbow on each individual “pixel” randomly.

So onto the seventh test. Hiro had treated the finished cloth against liquids. He was about to douse the cloth in the water when Tadashi walked in.

“What are you working on?” Tadashi asked as he walked over to Hiro.

“Something awesome,” Hiro replied as he pulled the dripping wet cloth from the bucket.

“What is that?” Tadashi asked as he watched the cloth practically repel the water on it.

“Watch this,” Hiro said and plugged the control module into the patch of cloth.

“Smart cloth?” Tadashi asked curiously.

“Those already exist,” Hiro pointed out. “Why would I reinvent the wheel?”

“What is it then?” Tadashi asked. He had to agree with Hiro on that one.

Hiro then pressed a button in the controller, and the cloth sprung to life, flashing through different kinds of color patterns.

“Wow, color-changing cloth. That’s cool,” Tadashi whistled.

“Thanks, Dashi. This is literally the first truly successful test,” Hiro revealed.

“Successful test? Do I want to know more?” Tadashi raised an eyebrow.

“Probably not, but there were six previous prototypes,” Hiro said.

“Where are they?” Tadashi asked curiously. He had always liked how Hiro ends up in the final product.

“The sixth one is here,” Hiro said and pulled the still spazzing cloth out from his pocket.

“Wasn’t water-resistant,” Hiro explained when he saw Tadashi’s confused look.

“The fifth one is here. It works but only about five times before burning out,” Hiro explained.

“And this is the second one, it shorted out immediately,” Hiro finished.

“What of the first, third, and fourth one?” Tadashi asked.

“The first one was so fragile that it disintegrated from the lightest of touches. The third one technically changed color but in doing so it became so corrosive that it literally dissolved itself out of existence. Then the fourth one combusted,” Hiro listed off the rest of his setbacks.

“You’ve been busy,” Tadashi noted. “But why did you come up with this in the first place?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. But don’t worry, you’re not the target of this act of mischief,” Hiro reassured.

“Who is it then?” Tadashi asked.

“Milly’s brother Jack,” Hiro replied.

“What kind of mischief are we talking about?” Tadashi asked with concern.

“Remember those pink socks? Crank that up to eleven,” Hiro grinned.

“Oh,” was the only thing Tadashi could manage.

“Now if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to get back to work,” Hiro said.

“It’s dinner time soon,” Tadashi said.

“But not yet,” Hiro pointed out.

Tadashi sighed and left. Hiro started testing how the came cloth could be implemented for the Microbots. To his delight, the compound worked as-is on the Microbots as well.

Hiro thusly coated about a dozen of them before connecting to them. Hiro ordered them to change to silver, and they did.

Hiro marveled how his Microbots practically morphed into a single incomprehensible mass. He then ordered a subset of them to change to a different metallic color. The effect was kind of nice, to be honest.

Hiro did the water test, as well as a scratch test, and the bots held up fine. Thus Hiro set up a manufacturing line of Microbot coating, using the Microbots themselves to do so.

It wasn’t long until all of Hiro’s Microbots were coated.

* * *

Hiro was playing with the improved Microbots when Tadashi walked in to get him for dinner.

“Hiro, dinner is…” Tadashi’s jaw dropped to the floor while his brain tried to comprehend what he was seeing.

“What am I seeing?” Tadashi asked as he watched the glistening light show.

“Is this better?” Hiro asked and turned the Microbots back to their original appearance.

“That was…” Tadashi started.

“Uncanny? I know,” Hiro nodded. And turned to look at Tadashi.

“What could possibly be the reason behind this one then?” Tadashi asked suspiciously.

“You’ll know soon enough but it’s something cool,” Hiro said cryptically.

“That is what worries me the most,” Tadashi sighed. In his opinion, Hiro’s “cool” was way too risky most of the time.

“You were saying about the dinner?” Hiro changed the topic.

“Oh, right. Dinner is ready.” Tadashi said, remembering the original reason for coming down to the garage.

“What are we waiting for then?” Hiro asked and hurried past Tadashi, who shook his head and followed after his brother.

* * *

After Dinner Hiro sent a message to his friends since he needed to get Jack to swing by the garage to get measurements. And he hadn’t actually told them that he was out yet either, oops.

* * *

Bot-fighters and Superheroes Group Chat

**Techie** **(Hiro):** What’s up guys? Guess who is back at it again.

**Milly** : Thank god you’re ok, brother. ;)

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben):** How was it in there? Did Megan even ask about it?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Thanks, sister. ;)

<Hiro nicknamed Milly “Sister”>

**Techie** **(Hiro):** It wasn’t much different from your new room.

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben):** That’s a relief. Megan?

**Megan** : Oops, I forgot, with all the other things Hiro told me.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** You should feel ashamed.

<Hiro nicknamed Megan “The Forgetful” for 10 minutes.>

**The** **Forgetful** **(Megan):** That’s mean.

**Sister** **(Milly):** Be thankful that Hiro didn’t make it permanent.

**The** **Forgetful** **(Megan):** Yeah, true. But still…

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Milly, is jack around?

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** Yes, I'm around but I'm also busy.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Would you come over right now?

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** I have a game going at the moment.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** [Insert a cactus image.]

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** Yes, Captain. Right away, Captain.

**Sister** **(Milly):** Quite the turnaround, amirite?

**The** **forgetful** **(Megan):** Certainly. That’s almost cruel.

* * *

It took maybe two minutes for Jack to make it to Hiro’s house.

“Follow me,” Hiro instructed, heading to the garage.

“What do you need me for?” Jack asked warily.

“I just want to take some measurements,” Hiro replied. “T-pose please.”

Jack did as requested ad Hiro scanned him. He then adjusted his templates and printed them.

“What are those for?” Jack asked warily.

“These are for your suit,” Hiro replied?

“My suit?” Jack gulped. “Do you mean like a superhero suit?”

“Yes, though it can be worn all day every day like I do with mine,” Hiro confirmed.

“What color will it be?” Jack asked.

“What color would you like it to be?” Hiro asked back.

“Would urban camo be possible?” Jack requested.

“No problem,” Hiro agreed. “You must promise not to tell anyone about this,” Hiro said before sending Jack back home.

Hiro set out to created Jack’s suit out of chameleon cloth, with its hidden locking mechanism. It was only a few hours of work. After that Hiro coated Tadashi’s suit in the same substance, essentially converting the old suit into a chameleon cloth one.

Hiro was now satisfied with what he had gotten done. The only thing left was to create an interface application for the warning system, but that could wait until tomorrow. After it would be done, it would be time to reveal what Hiro had been planning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: A superhero team is formed.


	44. Big Hero 6? 7?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro reveals his plans and a superhero group is formed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~1800 words

It was Tuesday morning, which meant that Hiro had to go to school for a change. This didn’t bother him that much, though he would have rather stayed at home working on the interface application.

* * *

Hiro had just arrived home from school with Tadashi. Hiro hauled his upgraded suits up to their bedroom.

He had also had time to create the application during school since he was supposed to have programming classes but due to his existing knowledge on the subject, he didn’t have to attend the classes.

Hiro was beginning to get antsy about this whole thing, especially of Tadashi’s reaction. That is why he decided to bite the bullet and call his friends over.

* * *

Bot-fighters and Superheroes Group Chat

**Techie** **(Hiro):** How’s everyone doing today?

**Megan** : Good, you?

**Sister** **(Milly):** Bored.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Fine, though a bit anxious.

**Dashi** : Why?

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** Bored also.

**Iron** **Lady** **(Abigail):** Just chilling.

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben):** Recovering from a miserable school day.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** How so?

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben):** Turns out, being 2 years older than your peers makes me stand out and thus the prime target for rude jokes.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** That’s nasty. But don’t worry, we’ll put them in order in due time.

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben):** How?

**Dashi** : ^

**Techie** **(Hiro):** You’ll find out soon enough.

**Dashi** : When is soon? That’s the second time since we got you out of jail that you have used that excuse to dodge the question.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Fair enough. So is everyone here able to come over around 5 PM?

**Iron** **Lady** **(Abigail):** Yes

**Sister** **(Milly):** ^

**Fanboy** **(Jack** ): ^

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben):** Yes. You’re going to tell us something groundbreaking?

**Megan** : If I'm correct about Hiro’s intentions; You have no idea. And I’ll come.

**Sister** **(Milly):** I’m getting excited.

**Dashi** : Megan, does your previous statement imply that you know something I don’t?

**Megan** : Maybe, maybe not. ;)

**Techie** **(Hiro):** She does, but you also know something she doesn’t.

**Dashi** : What do I know?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** What did I spend the better part of yesterday doing?

**Dashi** : Oh, you haven’t told her yet?

**Sister** **(Milly):** What have you not told each other.

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** Yeah, tell us.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** I will explain everything when you get here.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** It will be worth it.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** And Abigail, bring IronLady suit.

**Iron** **Lady** **(Abigail):** Will do.

* * *

It was 5 PM and Hiro was waiting for his friends to arrive. Tadashi was equally anxious for totally different reasons. He had an inkling that whatever Hiro would say, he wasn’t going to like it.

A few minutes later people started arriving. First Milly and Jack, then Abigail in his suit, then Megan and finally Ben. They had gathered in their living room.

“Now that we are all here, I guess I should reveal what I have been scheming for the past few days,” Hiro started. Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

“Alright, I have been thinking that we should do more for the city as a whole,” Hiro revealed.

“What?!” Tadashi exclaimed in utter shock.

“What do you mean exactly?” Ben asked.

“I mean that we will become superheroes,” Hiro answered enthusiastically.

“Sweet,” Abigail exclaimed.

“But what would we be doing?” Ben asked hesitantly.

“Whatever or whoever needs assistance. Be it stopping thievery, responding to an accident, or busting bot-fights,” Hiro replied.

“Like helping out in a building fire?” Abigail asked.

“Helping people out of a burning building, or to prevent civilians from needlessly risking their lives, for example,” Hiro confirmed while shooting Tadashi a blameful glare.

“How will we ever get to an accident location on time?”

“With this mobile app,” Hiro revealed and sent the .apk file to his friends.

“What does it do?” Tadashi asked.

“It tells you about emergencies and crimes,” Hiro revealed.

“Is it legal?” Ben asked.

“100% legal. Nothing to worry about,” Hiro reassured.

“What will each of us do?” Milly asked.

“I have a few ideas, but first I want you to swear that you are in on this, and once you are there is no turning back. So, think carefully,” Hiro requested looking at each person in sequence. Hiro then extended his hand out.

“I’m in,” Abigail said and put her hand on top of Hiro’s.

This was followed by Megan, then Milly, Jack, and Ben.

“So, Tadashi, will you join the rest of us or…” Hiro asked.

“I’m just wondering how I could be useful,” Tadashi admitted.

“Think of it this way. There is a fire witnessed by two siblings, a close friend of one of the siblings is stuck in the burning building. Would you allow that sibling to go in and likely die, leaving the other completely alone or would you keep them together?” Hiro laid it on thick.

Tadashi’s face went through a range of emotions from sorrow, to sadness to guilt.

“You’re right. There is always something I can do. Even if it is just supplying you with food,” Tadashi said and put his hand in the pile.

“Great, now repeat after me,” Hiro requested.

* * *

I solemnly swear to never tell anything related to the operation of Big Hero 7 to anyone not part of Big Hero 7.

I will never reveal my or anyone else’s true identity to anyone not part of Big Hero 7, not even family.

I will make sure that no connection can be made between my regular and superhero-self.

I will use my equipment and abilities solely for the good of the city and if I break this rule I will accept any punishments deemed necessary by the captain.

I will follow the captain’s orders whenever he is leading an operation unless he has explicitly stated otherwise.

I will be available at all times should a major disaster happen.

I have to tell the captain immediately if something is bothering me unless it is concerning a punishment.

“It is now done,” Hiro said and lowered his hand. “Any questions?”

“Yes, who is the captain?” Tadashi asked.

“Me,” Hiro replied.

“What if you’re not available?” Ben asked.

“Then Megan will be the acting captain until I return,” Hiro explained.

“Do you have my super-suit done yet?” Jack asked.

“Yes, I do, well get to it in a moment.”

“So, who will be doing what?” Milly asked.

“I and Jack will primarily target illegal bot-fighting and lecture any underage participants of the dangers,” Hiro started.

“Megan and you will be handling the news side of things if that is fine with you,” Hiro revealed.

“Sounds good,” Milly agreed.

“Ben and Dashi, you two will focus on store theft. I happen to know that the electronics store in the city center is suffering from a high rate of stolen products,” Hiro instructed.

“And Abigail, you will be our first responder, since you get most places the fastest,” Hiro finished.

“I can work with that,” Abigail nodded.

“And obviously if we get a notification of a major accident or a crime, then all of us field workers will be on-site,” Hiro added.

“So, how does all of this sound?” Hiro asked and looked around.

“Sounds like an awesome time,” Jack exclaimed.

“What about me, will I have a super-suit?” Ben asked.

“Yes, you will. I have already designed it but haven’t had the time to build it yet,” Hiro reassured.

(A/N: Actually forgot about that one while writing the previous chapter.)

“Now, Milly. Would you follow me upstairs?” Hiro asked.

“Yes, captain,” she replied and got up.

“Why did you want me up here?” she asked once they were out of earshot.

“I wanted to show you the special features I’ve built into Jack's super-suit,” Hiro explained.

“What kind of features?” she asked.

“Well, I designed it such that it works wonders as a punishment device,” Hiro grinned and took the suit out of his wardrobe.

“What? Urban camo, and what makes it so punishment capable?” she asked curiously.

“He requested this color scheme, but here’s the thing,” Hiro said and pressed a button on the sleeve of the suit. This changed its color to forest camo and another button changed the intensity of the patterns.

“Color-changing fabric? That’s quite something. You know you could make a lot of money with that?” Milly said and looked up at Hiro.

“I could have made a lot of money by selling my Microbots to Krei, and I'm glad I didn’t,” Hiro replied.

“Now look closely. This makes it a punishment device,” Hiro said, taking the suit to his hands and connecting to it. He then locked the zipper. “It locks. And once locked only I can open it without extensive damage.”

“And then I can override the color like this,” Hiro said and locked the color to bright pink.

“He’s going to hate that so much,” Milly giggled.

“I know, that’s the sole reason I came up with the chameleon cloth,” Hiro laughed along. “Shall we toy with him a bit?”

“Totally,” Milly agreed.

Hiro hid the evidence of there being anything special about the suit. They then returned downstairs with his suit.

“What did you do up there?” Jack asked curiously.

“I just showed her a thing I invented,” Hiro replied. “Here’s your super-suit, put it on.” Jack did as asked.

“Ooh, comfy,” he sighed.

“Yes, I know,” Hiro agreed. “But Jack, you realize that you now have even more rules to follow?”

“And that means?” Jack asked warily.

“With new rules come new punishments,” Hiro grinned.

“What kind of punishments?” he asked alarmed.

“How about this?” Hiro asked and connected to Jack’s suit. He then locked it. It produced a barely audible click.

“What was that?” Jack asked and looked at his chest.

Hiro didn’t answer, instead, he changed the color to bright pink.

“How and what the actual fuck?” Jack exclaimed as he observed the color changing. He got totally flustered when the colors stopped at bright pink.

“You will be going out dressed like that,” Hiro said and relished the discomfort Jack was in.

“What’s stopping me from taking it off?” Jack asked defiantly.

“Nothing I suppose,” Hiro shook his shoulders. “Oh, right except that you swore to take any punishments handed to you.”

“But try to take it off anyway, I bet you won't be able to,” Hiro grinned.

Jack tried to unzip the suit but it wouldn’t budge.

“It’s stuck,” he exclaimed.

“Not stuck, locked,” Hiro corrected.

“Why would I ever want to wear this?” jack protested.

“One, because I say that you will, two, under normal conditions the suit can be any color you want. And three, would you rather get hurt out there?” Hiro listed. “Is this clear?”

“Yes, captain,” Jack confirmed.

“Good,” Hiro said and returned the control of the color and zipper back to Jack.

* * *

Sometime later Hiro’s friends left their separate ways, and after doing so, Hiro headed to the garage to build Ben’s super-suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot, we have Big Hero 7. And yes, I'm aware that this version has a bit stricter chain of command.  
> Almost forgot to add the title, again, oops.
> 
> Next time: Tadashi's birthday.


	45. Tadashi’s Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tadashi's birthday is coming up. Hiro seems to be the only one to remember it. He has to get Tadashi out of the house so that his friends can come over and decorate. Hiro does so using some unconventional methods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~4100 words

It was Friday after school and Hiro was waiting for Sunday in anticipation. Why? Well, Tadashi’s birthday was on said Sunday, and the best part was that the teen seemed to have forgotten about the whole thing.

Hiro sent a few messages to his different friend groups.

* * *

Bot-fighters and Superheroes Group Chat

<Exclude: Dashi>

**Techie** **(Hiro):** You know it’s Dashi’s birthday on Sunday?

**Iron** **Lady** **(Abigail):** Yes, what are you planning?

**Sister** **(Milly):** ^

**Techie** **(Hiro):** I was thinking of pulling a “brother has disappeared” prank on him.

**Sister** **(Milly):** I'm in.

**Iron** **Lady** **(Abigail):** Ooh, what would it entail?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Remember when I made myself invisible to him?

**Iron** **Lady** **(Abigail):** Yes, so are you going to do that again?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Precisely. I will have you lead him in circles around the city as he will come to you for help.

**Iron** **Lady** **(Abigail):** Ok, but why?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** I will have the SFIT nerds come and decorate the café while he is hunting for me.

**Megan** : I call shenanigans and I like it.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** So, is everyone in?

**Iron** **Lady** **(Abigail):** Yes.

**Sister** **(Milly):** ^

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** ^

**The** **apprentice** **(Ben):** ^

**Megan** : ^

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Good. Does Milly & Jack=>Megan=>Ben=>Abigail=>SFIT sound good?

**Sister** **(Milly):** Sounds good.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** That’s settled then. Now, radio silence. Oh, and do make your way over to the café as you’re free from tending to Dashi’s visits.

<Exclude: Disabled>

* * *

SFIT Nerds Group Chat

<Exclude: Tadashi>

**Hiro** : Would you guys be available to decorate the café for Tadashi’s birthday?

**Honey** **Lemon** : Of course, we’ll help. But why did you hide these messages from him?

**GoGo** : Yeah, why?

**Hiro** : By the looks of it, he has totally forgotten that his birthday is coming up and I want to keep that secret as long as possible.

**Honey** **Lemon** : I understand. But how will you hide the fact that we’re decorating the café?

**Hiro** : He will be out of the house for a while. I’m going to have him drive around the city on a little “Hiro hunt.”

**Fred** : Hiro hunt?

**Wasabi** : Why would he be hunting you?

**Hiro** : The story goes like this: I will make myself invisible in Tadashi's eyes while he is sleeping. While doing that, I’ll implant a memory of him having a big fight with me.

**Hiro** : When he wakes up on Sunday morning, he will only find an angry note on my bed saying that I'm staying over at a friend’s place.

**Hiro** : He will no doubt go after me to try to settle the dispute, but when he arrives there, he is told that I have left for another friend’s place.

**Hiro** : Repeat that a few times until he gets directed to SFIT, where he will find another note instructed to return to the café, which you guys have decorated while he was out.

**Hiro** : Then it’s surprise time.

**Hiro** : However, there are few additional things you should know about… [Redacted for spoiler reasons.]

**GoGo** : That’s quite the plan, what if something goes wrong?

**Fred** : Tell me you’re going to film the whole thing.

**Wasabi** : _When_ something goes wrong?

**Hiro** : That is why I’m going to be shadowing him the entire time.

**Hiro** : The safe word to end the invisibility is “gummy bear popsicle.” I'm telling you this just in case something truly terrible happens.

**Hiro** : And yes, I'm going to film it. It should be fun.

**Honey** **Lemon** : Tadashi won’t forget that kind of birthday for a long time.

**Hiro** : That’s for certain, but I think he will be just as happy that I'm healthy and not missing.

**Wasabi** : Ok, we’re in.

**Hiro** : Good, I’ll message you when it is safe to come to decorate.

**GoGo** : Deal. 

<Exclude: Disabled>

* * *

After that was done Hiro headed downstairs to find his aunt.

“Hey, Aunt Cass,” Hiro called out to the kitchen of the café.

“Yes, Hiro. What is it?” she asked.

“You know that Tadashi's birthday is in two days, right?” Hiro started.

“Oh, god. I totally forgot,” Aunt Cass exclaimed and lowered her head in shame.

“Few of our friends are coming over on Sunday morning to decorate the place,” Hiro calmed.

“That’s good that you’re on top of things,” she sighed.

“Yeah, I seem to be the only one of us who is,” Hiro chuckled. “Tadashi hasn’t acknowledged his birthday in any way whatsoever.”

“I’m guessing that you have some convoluted plan to keep him out of the house for a while?” Aunt Cass inquired.

“I sure do, let’s just hope that it doesn’t blow up in my face,” Hiro said with a straight face.

“How often have they done that?” Aunt Cass asked warily.

“Not often, but this one has so many moving parts. But I’m going to keep a relatively close eye on him,” Hiro reassured.

“I won’t stop you, as long as you both stay safe,” she demanded.

“We will, there is no question about that,” Hiro reassured. “Tadashi might act a bit strangely tomorrow, but just act as if I'm nowhere to be found.”

* * *

Saturday morning – Preparations

“I'm going over to Megan's,” Hiro announced after breakfast.

“What will you be doing?” Tadashi asked curiously.

“Just some Bf/Gf time or something like that,” Hiro smiled genuinely.

“Oh, I see,” Tadashi said decided to drop the topic. “Have fun.”

“I will,” Hiro nodded and headed out.

* * *

At Megan’s

“Oh, hi Hiro,” Megan greeted when she opened the front door. “Was not expecting a visit from you.”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to reveal the entirety of my plan to everyone, especially not Ben, since he wouldn’t feel comfortable with it,” Hiro explained.

“What could it possibly be?” Megan raised an eyebrow when they had situated themselves in her room.

“Well. I don’t want it to be just Tadashi going from door to door. I want there to be a bit of suspense and a dash of drama,” Hiro revealed.

“So?” Megan asked.

“So, I'm going to set up a fake kidnapping,” Hiro finished the sentence.

“What? How?” Megan asked in confusion.

“A video of me saying the demands of supposed kidnappers, which will consist of taking money to a certain place,” Hiro enlightened.

“Let me guess. You want my help in the making of that video,” Megan guessed.

“Exactly,” Hiro nodded.

“I’m in, what do we need?” Megan asked.

“Just my phone and some rope,” Hiro replied.

“We should have some in the garage,” Megan said.

* * *

A few minutes later – San Fransokyo Docks

“This should do fine,” Hiro said as he opened the door to an abandoned warehouse.

“Ok, what will we do?” Megan asked.

“I want you to tie me to this post and then just start filming,” Hiro instructed.

Megan did as Hiro asked. It wasn’t long after that they had a take that they both thought to be pretty convincing.

“Now we can do whatever we want for a few hours,” Hiro declared.

“Should we go and have ice cream?” Megan suggested.

“Why not?” Hiro agreed and they headed out of the docks.

After the ice creams, Hiro and Megan wandered around downtown just chatting about this and that.

After a few hours, they decided to head back home.

Throughout the rest of the day, Hiro continued to make the preparations for tomorrow. It was going to be a crazy day, to say the least.

* * *

Saturday – After Tadashi had fallen asleep.

Hiro sneaked out of his bed and walked over to Tadashi.

He connected to Tadashi's mind and sent the command, “You will not see me or my Microbots until someone says, ‘gummy bear popsicle.’” Hiro also sowed the memory of the argument between them.

* * *

Sunday Morning – The big day

Hiro woke up before Tadashi. He made the bed and placed his note from yesterday onto it. Then he waited.

At precisely 8 AM Tadashi's alarm clock buzzed.

“Hiro, you damn devil,” Tadashi groaned and slammed the alarm off.

It took a few seconds for Tadashi to realize the lack of Hiro’s mischievous laughter or any response for that matter. He quickly got out of bed and walked over to the divider and his eyes widened when he saw Hiro’s side devoid of the teen.

Tadashi noticed the folded piece of paper on Hiro’s bed. He picked it up and unfolded it.

* * *

Tadashi “Idiot” Hamada

If you want to apologize for what you said yesterday, then you should come and do so asap.

If you hurry, I might still be at Milly’s house.

If not, she might know where I might have gone.

Your pissed off brother.

* * *

As Tadashi read the note his shoulders sank. The feeling on the back of his mind told him that he had said something deeply offensive to Hiro, but he had no recollection of what had happened.

When Tadashi walked downstairs, he noticed Aunt Cass drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.

“Good morning Tadashi,” she greeted happily.

“Have you seen Hiro this morning?” Tadashi asked.

“He headed off early over to a friend’s house,” Aunt Cass replied. “Why do you ask?”

“I have to apologize to him about something I said to him yesterday, though I don’t remember what I said,” Tadashi replied.

“Then you better get going before Hiro’s mood swings to a darker one,” Aunt Cass urged.

Tadashi's eyes widened as he took in the words.

_‘What if I made fun of his abilities?’_ Tadashi thought.

“You’re totally right, I should be going. See you when I find him,” Tadashi said out loud and headed out, with Hiro close behind him with the Microbots. Hiro was keeping his friends in the loop about Tadashi's whereabouts.

Tadashi walked the few hundred meters over to Milly and Jack’s house.

“Oh, Tadashi. What brings you here?” Milly asked as she opened the door.

“Hi, Milly. Is Hiro here?” Tadashi asked.

“He was but left already. Said that he had to go over to Megan’s place to work some things out,” Milly smiled apologetically. “But why are you in such a hurry to find him?”

“I think I offended him yesterday and now he is nowhere to be seen. And I'm worried that he will get into trouble,” Tadashi admitted.

“What kind of trouble?” Milly asked curiously.

“I'm worried that he’ll get kidnapped or something terrible like that,” Tadashi shivered at the thought, “but I’ve got to get going.”

“It was nice chatting with you, and I hope too that Hiro is ok,” Milly said and closed the door.

Tadashi headed over to Megan's home, and the same pattern repeated. Then Ben and Abigail.

Tadashi was beginning to lose hope at this point. He was driving toward SFIT, though he didn’t have high expectations of finding Hiro in there either. He walked toward the robotics building. In front of the main door, there was a tablet with a “watch me!” sticky note attached.

Tadashi hesitantly unlocked the tablet and tapped on the video file.

* * *

Tadashi almost dropped the tablet when he saw what presented itself on the screen.

Hiro was tied to a pole in a dark building, which looked like a warehouse of some sort.

“H-hi Tadashi. It’s me,” came Hiro’s shaky voice.

“As you can probably see, I'm in a bit of a pickle at the moment,” Hiro emphasized this, by tugging at his restraints, which proved useless.

_What did you get yourself into this time?_

“I have no idea where I am. And these kidnappers want 1000$ in cash or they will do something to me,” Hiro continued. “There should be enough in our shared safe in our lab at SFIT. They want you to leave the money where you found this video.”

_Oh, god. What have I deserved to earn this?_

“One more thing. The police must not get involved. At the first sight of them in a goner,” Hiro added.

_No police. Got it._

“Please for the love of gummy bear popsicle get me out of this place,” Hiro pleaded. Then the video ended.

_I'm coming Hiro, I'm coming!_

Tadashi then dashed inside, into their shared lab, and over to the safe. Like Hiro had said there indeed was a hefty pile of money. Tadashi grabbed 1000$ of it and then headed back out.

Tadashi placed the money next to the tablet and waited. Then his phone dinged, unknown number, “Leave. When we have determined that the money is genuine, we will text you where you can find your loved one.”

Tadashi did as he had been ordered. Once he was out of sight Hiro came out from where he had been hiding and took the tablet and money back. At this point, he got a message informing him that the decorations were ready.

Hiro traveled over to the warehouse and entered through a window since he had barricaded the door from the outside with wooden planks. He gagged and tied himself to the pillar, once again, with the help of the Microbots.

After that was done, he sent Tadashi the message using the anonymous number, “Here: [GPS coordinates].”

He then used the Microbots to stash his phone away and then positioning the camera, which he had integrated into them earlier in the week, in such a way where it could capture the whole exchange. Then he moved the remaining Microbots out of sight and waited.

Tadashi was beginning to lose hope of the kidnappers actually ever telling him where Hiro was. Suddenly he got a text message with a GPS location attached.

Tadashi took off so fast and in no time, he was in front of the building Hiro was supposedly in.

Tadashi dislodged the wood planks and swung the door open.

“Hiro!” He cried out when his eyes located his poor little brother.

“Tadashi!” Hiro replied enthusiastically, though it was muffled by the gag.

Tadashi rushed over to Hiro and got him free.

“Are you alright?” He asked worriedly.

“Now that you’re here I'm fine,” Hiro replied, hugging his brother dearly.

“How did it happen? Who did it?” Tadashi asked.

“Let’s get home first. I’d rather not spend here any more time than I already have,” Hiro said and pulled Tadashi along.

“I understand,” Tadashi smiled and they headed out of the warehouse, back to Tadashi’s scooter.

Hiro pulled the Microsoft behind them, keeping them a reasonable distance away.

* * *

“Come on Dashi. Let’s go in already,” Hiro urged as Tadashi was being too slow in his opinion.

“Coming!” Tadashi called out as he hurried over to the door.

Hiro had Tadashi walk in first. When they were in and Hiro had closed the door, he yelled, “Happy birthday, Dashi.”

This was echoed by about ten other “Happy birthdays.”

Tadashi’s jaw dropped and he looked from person to person, then at Hiro and then at the floor.

“What’s the matter Dashi?” Hiro asked playfully.

“It’s just that I wasn’t expecting you guys to remember my birthday,” Tadashi said thankfully.

“And I thought that you had forgotten it yourself,” Hiro pointed out.

“No, I didn’t. I just didn’t want to seem like the type to crave for attention,” Tadashi sighed. “But the best present I could ever have is to have a brother who is alive and well.”

“Thanks, Dashi but why wouldn’t I be alive and well?” Hiro asked, smiling innocently.

“You got kidnapped today,” Tadashi said and looked at Hiro worriedly.

“What? Really?” Milly and Jack asked in unison.

“Are you alright?” Ben asked.

“Who did it? Was it Krei?” Abigail asked angrily.

“I guess that there is still about one group chat’s worth of people who don’t know,” Hiro sighed and sat down.

“Don’t know what?” Milly asked curiously.

“That I’ve been playing Tadashi the whole morning,” Hiro replied.

“How have you been playing with him?” Aunt Cass asked.

“Let’s start from the beginning,” Hiro said.

“Last night, I did some mind tricks on Dashi while he was sleeping,” Hiro revealed.

“What did you do to me?” Tadashi asked warily.

“First I made myself invisible to you and then I sowed a seed of guilt over a nonexistent fight,” Hiro started.

“So that’s why Tadashi asked if I had seen you even though you were literally standing right behind him,” Aunt Cass sighed in relief.

“You dirty little bastard,” Tadashi exclaimed.

“Don’t look at me,” Hiro defended. “I was following you the whole time.”

“If you were following me, then at what point did you get kidnapped?” Tadashi asked confusedly.

“Let me think, oh yes. It was between the two text messages you received,” Hiro replied with a mischievous grin.

“How did you know about them?” Tadashi asked.

“I sent them,” Hiro pointed out. “There was no kidnapping.”

“So, was all of that theater?” Tadashi asked.

“Yes, Megan helped me with the video yesterday. And I used Microbots today,” Hiro explained.

“Here’s the ‘ransom’ by the way,” Hiro said and gave Tadashi the wad of bills.

“But why did you do this?” Tadashi asked in confusion.

“Notice the decorations? I had to get you out of the house for long enough. And I also wanted to have some fun,” Hiro said and laughed lightheartedly.

“I noticed,” Tadashi said.

“And the final part is on film as per Fred’s request,” Hiro said.

“Can we watch it?” Fred asked excitedly.

“I’d also like to see how you managed to fool Tadashi so badly,” GoGo said and popped her bubblegum.

“Sure,” Hiro said and connected to his phone and the micro-camera. He transferred the video file over to his phone.

After that was done, he cast his phone screen to the TV. And chose the file starting from SFIT.

The video feed showed Tadashi watching Hiro’s video.

“Do you have that video on its own?” Milly asked.

“Yes, I do,” Hiro replied. “Want to see it?”

“Yeah, I do,” Milly nodded.

“Ok,” Hiro said and switched videos.

“If I didn’t know better, I would have fallen for that,” Abigail complemented when Hiro switched back to the original video.

“I would have been super worried,” Ben agreed.

Hiro continued the video, skipping over to the part where he entered the warehouse through the window.

“That’s cleaver. Keeping the door shut from the outside,” Jack pointed out.

“Would not have expected you to do that,” honey Lemon commented as the video showed Hiro restraining himself.

“To you maybe, not so much for us,” Milly said. “He has done some pretty outlandish things if he deems it to be for a greater good.”

“Like what?” GoGo squinted at Hiro.

“Well, he did drop me over the edge of a building’s roof right in front of my brother. It was an eye-opening experience for me,” Milly revealed.

“Hiro did what?” GoGo exclaimed in disbelief.

“Or the time he did the same thing to himself in front of me,” Tadashi said. “I guess, he got something out of seeing me shattered over his perceived death.”

Then they watched the video to the end. No one had anything to say about the rest of it. But then the recommended video showed up. It had a name, “Little Dashi.mp4.”

“What’s that?” Wasabi asked.

“It’s just me having fun at Tadashi’s expense. Back before we confronted Krei,” Hiro replied.

“Oh, I remember that. It was hilarious,” Abigail said and chuckled.

“Shall we watch it?” Fred asked.

“Why not, grilling Dashi is always fun,” Hiro grinned and pressed play.

The video started by showing how Hiro pushed Tadashi over with ease.

“Oh, god. I remember this now,” Tadashi cried out as he remembered the embarrassing situation.

“Oh, does Little Dashi have grabby hands?” Hiro could be heard saying. That got a few laughs from Aunt Cass.

“Oh, is Little Dashi scared of his little brother?” That line was too much for Fred and he started laughing.

Then there was the scene where Tadashi was punching Hiro’s arm and Hiro snapping at him.

“I can totally see the threat in those words,” Wasabi shivered.

“Yeah, you’ve probably heard this a million times already but I don’t want to end up on the wrong side of you,” Honey Lemon agreed.

The scene where Hiro revealed that this was on the tape was the final blow and Abigail started laughing. She had managed to suppress it the last time but now was different.

Soon everyone joined in and the whole room, except for extremely embarrassed Tadashi, was laughing.

“Do you have more of these funny videos?” Aunt Cass asked after the laughter had died down a bit.

“No. Not at the moment. But who knows, maybe someday,” Hiro replied and smirked.

* * *

Then it was time for the cake and after that there were presents.

“Oh, this is…nice,” Tadashi said as he looked at GoGo’s gift. It was a robotics book.

“How did you manage to pick one I didn’t already have?” He asked curiously.

“I asked Hiro if you had that already,” GoGo explained.

“Makes sense,” Tadashi nodded before setting the book aside and opening the next present.

“Thanks, Wasabi,” Tadashi said as he opened the gift. It was a bottle of his favorite cologne. “You totally didn’t have to; this stuff is expensive.”

“Nah, it’s no problem. Gifts are gifts after all,” Wasabi said in response.

“What’s this?” Tadashi asked as he took out Honey Lemon’s gift. “This is so sweet, thanks Honey Lemon” Honey Lemon had given him a scarf she had knitted herself. It had his name knitted onto it.

“How long did this take?” Tadashi asked after a moment.

“I haven’t kept track. And it wouldn’t matter even if I had,” Honey lemon said.

The final gift was from Hiro.

“Hiro, what is this?” Tadashi asked as he examined the tiny earpiece looking device.

“It’s a micro-phone,” Hiro explained.

“Like a superhero phone?” Jack asked curiously.

“Dude. Totally, the type which the hero manages to hide in the sole of their boot,” Fred said excitedly.

“I suppose one could use it for that. Especially since you don’t have to talk to use it,” Hiro revealed the main point.

“Did you steal something from your neurotransmitter?” Abigail asked knowingly.

“Is it stealing if I own it?” Hiro asked sarcastically. “But I did use the same tech, yes.”

“How does one use it?” Tadashi asked looking at the outer face of the earpiece.

“It’s simple. The middle button dials it to me or ends the call. The outer buttons are for volume,” Hiro explained.

“What if I want to change the recipient?” Tadashi asked.

“Just plug it to a computer through its charging port,” Hiro instructed.

“But why would I need this?” Tadashi asked.

“Ever been in a situation where you have to talk to me but can’t?” Hiro asked.

“Maybe a few times,” Tadashi nodded.

“That’s what I thought. Besides, you never know when you need me,” Hiro pointed out.

“Fair point,” Tadashi agreed.

“I'm sorry Tadashi that I didn’t get you anything,” Aunt Cass apologized.

“Nah, it’s ok. I wasn’t expecting to get anything. And like I said before, Hiro is my best present ever,” Tadashi said and grabbed Hiro for a quick hug. Hiro returned it.

It was evident to everyone in the room that the two were each other’s lives.

With the gifts dealt with, they hung around a bit before going their separate ways.

* * *

“You know, Hiro. This was the best birthday I could have hoped for,” Tadashi said as the two were heading to bed that night.

“Thanks. And I hope that I want too cruel to you with the whole disappearing thing,” Hiro said shyly.

“I was briefly super worried, but what matters, in the end, is that you’re here with me,” Tadashi reassured.

“Yeah, likewise,” Hiro agreed and shivered at the thought of almost not having Tadashi with him.

This got Tadashi thinking. “Say, Hiro. What made you want to be a superhero?” Tadashi asked curiously.

Hiro sighed audibly as he collected his thoughts for a moment.

“I guess that it was just logical. I have been helping my friends out of trouble a lot. Then there was the whole thing with Krei and me getting arrested. They showed me that there are a lot of bad actors running around the city. And obviously the big one I said to you earlier, about you almost dying. That I think is the biggest factor. I cannot let anyone be in that situation of having to choose between a friend and a sibling. The consequences are too severe,” Hiro poured his heart out.

“I totally get where you’re coming from. I know how it would have felt had I died. And that, I think is something which I think strengthens our bond even further,” Tadashi replied.

“Thanks…Dashi,” Hiro said after a moment of silence.

“Thank you as well. Without you I wouldn’t be here,” Tadashi said in response.

“That goes both ways,” Hiro pointed out. “Good night, Dashi.”

“Good night, Hiro,” Tadashi responded before both of them fell asleep from the long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a wild ride, amirite?
> 
> Next time: Some superheroing.


	46. Busted Bot-fight and The Crackdown on Crooks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Tadashi go stop some thieves. Hiro and Jack go to bust a bot fight. Both groups encounter someone they weren't expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~3500 words

It was Monday after Tadashi’s birthday. Exactly a week since he had formed Big Hero 7, their superhero team. Hiro had this peculiar feeling that if they didn’t go busting bot-fights tonight something tragic would happen.

* * *

Bot-fighters and Superheroes Group Chat

_Hiro Renamed the group to “Big Hero 7.”_

**Techie** **(Hiro):** What’s up?

**Iron** **Lady** **(Abigail):** Homework.

**Sister** **(Milly):** ^

**Megan** : Family time.

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** Nothing much. Just on standby in case you or Milly need me. ;)

**Techie** **(Hiro):** There’s a good boy.

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** Why do you keep taunting me?

**Sister** **(Milly):** Cause he cares for you. It’s a sign of affection.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Guess what I'm thinking.

**Dashi** : Oh, no.

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben):** Do you mean hero business?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Oh, damn. You got me. Not.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** But yes, that’s what I was getting at.

**Sister** **(Milly):** What if we’re busy.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Then you won't have to come unless it’s a crisis. Consider this a patrol of sorts. You can’t help if you don’t know that it’s happening.

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben):** I’d be up for something.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** You’ll need a partner then. Dashi?

**Dashi** : It depends. What would we be doing?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** I was thinking that you could go and stop shoplifters at that big electronics store.

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben):** Sounds good to me.

**Dashi** : I think I'm fine with that.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Good. Ben, swing by our place to get your super-suit.

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben):** Will do and thank you.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** No probs.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Jack?

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** What?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Be ready to leave around 10 PM.

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** Why? Where?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** What are we talking about here?

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** You mean that you want me to come with you?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Precisely. We’re going to bust some bot-fights.

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** Great, I’ll be ready.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** See you then. And Remember to stay anon.

**Dashi** : We will.

* * *

It didn’t take long for Ben to arrive. Hiro took him to the garage.

“So this is it?” Ben asked as he looked at the gear in Hiro’s hands.

“Yeah,” Hiro confirmed.

“Does it have super abilities?” Ben asked curiously.

“Yes, it does. The gloves have magnetic tethers. In addition, you have these,” Hiro said and gave Ben a magnetic target.

“What is it for?” Ben asked.

“I’ll show you,” Hiro said and used the glove mounted launcher to launch a few of the pucks to a nearby steel beam, a magnetic rope appeared between them.

“That should keep most of the bad guys in place,” Hiro grinned.

“I can see that,” Ben chuckled.

“Yeah, and don’t forget to use your abilities. It should be fairly easy to feel the dishonesty,” Hiro reminded.

“I’ll remember that,” Ben noted before suiting up.

“If the police arrive, just disappear and call it a night,” Hiro instructed.

“Ok, but why?” Ben asked curiously.

“it’s better to stay as a mystery,” Hiro replied.

* * *

Ben and Tadashi had been hiding in a bush near the store entrance for only a few minutes when Ben felt a very heave wave of dishonesty floating about.

“I think that we have a target,” Ben whispered to Tadashi.

Soon two rather large people walked out of the store carrying a BIG television.

“That thing has to cost thousands,” Tadashi whistled.

“They're them, they wreak of dishonesty,” Ben whispered back.

“Ok, let’s stop them,” Ben suggested. Tadashi nodded in agreement.

“Hey, you two! Stop!” Ben shouted and came out of the bush.

The two people froze in their tracks and turned to look at Ben and Tadashi.

“W-who are you?” one of them asked.

“Doesn’t matter, but do you happen to have the receipt for that TV?” Tadashi asked.

“We threw it away,” one of them replied.

“I find that unlikely,” Ben scoffed. “You aren’t shoplifting by any chance?”

The two thieves' eyes widened as they realized that they had been caught, so they tried to go for the intimidation tactic.

“What could you puny kid do to us even if we did steal it?” The thief asked sarcastically.

“I wish that Captain was here with his Spikes right now,” Ben whispered to Tadashi. “He’d show these two goofballs what intimidating looks like.”

“Yeah, totally,” Tadashi whispered in response.

“I could call the police…or I could make you return the stolen goods,” Ben contemplated.

Before neither of the thieves could react to this unexpected reply, the store's in-house security came running through the door.

“Freeze!” one of them ordered, not that anyone was moving to begin with.

The four of them were quickly surrounded.

“Who are you?” one of them asked, pointing to Ben and Tadashi.

“Not thieves,” Ben replied.

“Quite the opposite really,” Tadashi added.

“Why are you hanging around those thieves then?” the guard asked.

“The same that you are doing. Preventing them from getting away with it,” Ben replied.

“But why would you spend your day doing something with no compensation?” The guard asked.

“We do it because it is the right thing to do,” Tadashi explained. “And besides, if we hadn’t, then the store would be five grand in the negative.”

“We’re very grateful that you stopped these thieves. But what if they had been armed?” the guard worried.

“I have some tricks up my sleeves,” Ben revealed. “Nothing illegal or harmful, though.”

“All right, you two can go. We’ll take these thieves from here. And thank you for the service,” the guard said and let Ben and Tadashi go.

* * *

This circle repeated five more times in the following hour, though on the successive times the guard didn’t question Ben or Tadashi. Just as Ben and Tadashi were thinking of stopping, Ben spotted a customer he would have never expected.

“Mom? What the hell is she doing here?” Ben whispered to Tadashi.

“Doesn’t she look a bit shaken to you as well?” Tadashi whispered.

“Yeah, totally,” Ben agreed.

After a few minutes, Ben’s mom came out of the store crying hysterically.

“Something is amiss,” Ben pointed out.

“And big time,” Tadashi added. “Should we?”

“Yeah,” Ben nodded.

“What seems to be the problem, ma’am?” Ben asked.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“We only want to know why you are so upset,” Tadashi replied.

“I fear what my son will do when he returns from his friends,” she said shakily.

“Why is that?” Ben asked curiously.

“I was cleaning his room and I accidentally dropped his laptop on the ground. And I don’t have the money to buy him a new one,” she explained.

“I understand. Would you excuse me for a second, I have to make a quick phone call,” Ben said and walked a short distance away before calling Hiro.

* * *

Hi, Captain. Do you have a moment?

_Yes, I do. What is it?_

Well, it concerns my mom.

_Thinking of telling her?_

…

How did you know?

_Why else would you want to talk about her with me right at this moment?_

Fair point.

_The answer is unfortunately no._

But she’s in distress.

_She’ll be in even more distress if she knows that you are running around the city searching for baddies._

I guess that you’re right. But what am I supposed to do then?

_Just reassure her that things will be ok._

_And don’t even think of double-crossing me. I will find out and you will not like the result._

Yes, Captain. I understand.

* * *

Ben hung up the phone and returned to his mom.

“Sorry about that. I just want to say that I'm sure that he’ll understand that it was an accident,” Ben reassured his mom.

“Are you sure?” she asked warily.

“I'm sure,” Ben confirmed.

Ben and Tadashi decided that this was enough work for today and they departed toward the café once Ben’s mom had left.

* * *

“How did it go?” Hiro asked when Tadashi climbed up to their room.

“We caught some thieves and Ben’s mom was miserable,” Tadashi replied.

“Yeah, I heard about that,” Hiro nodded.

“How?” Tadashi asked.

“Ben called me and asked if he could reveal his identity to her,” Hiro explained.

“What did you reply?” Tadashi asked.

“Did he reveal his identity or no?” Hiro replied with a question.

“So, no,” Tadashi concluded.

“Yep, it’s better that she doesn’t know that her son is running around the city in pursuit of criminals,” Hiro pointed out.

“You’re probably right,” Tadashi agreed.

* * *

Ben was returning home after changing back to his civilian clothing. He was a little anxious about his mom’s state of mind. He soon arrived and opened the door.

“Hi, mom! I'm home,” Ben said and started walking toward his room to place his bag of superhero gear in there.

“Oh, Ben. I'm so sorry,” Ben’s mom said.

“About what?” Ben feigned ignorance.

“I was cleaning your room and I accidentally broke your laptop. And I don’t have the money for a new one,” she explained.

“It’s ok, that laptop needed replacement anyway. It was out of date two years ago,” Ben calmed her.

“So, you’re not mad at me?” she asked relieved.

“Not at all. It was an accident after all,” Ben confirmed.

* * *

That evening – Almost 10 PM

Hiro was getting ready to head out.

“You going?” Tadashi asked as Hiro collected his armor.

“Yeah, don’t wait for me. I’ll probably return sometime after midnight,” Hiro confirmed.

“Well. Have fun, and do tell me if you see any familiar faces,” Tadashi added.

“Are you expecting someone to be there?” Hiro asked quizzically.

“No, I'm just curious. And you never know,” Tadashi replied.

* * *

Hiro arrived at Jack and Milly’s house.

“You ready to head out?” Hiro asked as Jack opened the door.

“Affirmative,” Jack nodded and walked out.

“Where are we going?” Jack asked as Microbots grabbed him.

“To good luck alley. It’s the city’s worst bot-fighting hotspot,” Hiro replied.

“You mean that place where I got my ass handed to me,” Jack verified.

“That’s the place, though this time we’re not gonna strangle anyone.”

“Are we traveling with Microbots?” Jack asked hesitantly.

“Of course,” Hiro replied and they took off.

* * *

Soon they were in the neighborhood and Hiro decided that it was time for the transformation.

Thus he made the Microbot’s super shiny, to the point of being usable as a mirror, when tiled neatly.

“What am I looking at?” Jack asked as he looked at the Microbots turned mirrors.

“Just Microbots,” Hiro replied.

“If I didn’t know better I wouldn’t be able to make out what that is. It looks like a mirror,” Jack complimented.

“That’s the point. To distance them from the Microbots,” Hiro grinned.

“You certainly succeeded,” Jack noted.

They then made their way to the infamous alley.

* * *

Hiro took a look at the people there. Mostly adults in their thirties, but there were a few clearly underage people. Then his eyes landed on a person he would have never expected to be at a bot-fight.

_‘What on earth is GoGo doing here?’_ Hiro thought, _‘With a battle bot no less.’_

Hiro decided to wait it out, and see what would happen.

Soon it was GoGo’s turn, and she sat down. But before she could take out her betting money, she felt someone tapping her shoulder.

“What is it?” she asked agitated and turned to look at the two helmeted heroes.

“Follow us,” Hiro ordered.

“Why?” GoGo asked.

“Just do, that’s an order,” Hiro insisted.

GoGo reluctantly stood up.

“You three as well,” Hiro added and pointed to the underage kids.

They looked around in a panic, but approached Hiro and Jack, nonetheless.

Hiro then started walking out of the alley with Jack behind him.

The four bot-fighters traded confused looks and walked after the helmeted people.

Hiro and jack stopped when they had reached the main road.

“Who are you?” GoGo inquired.

“It doesn’t matter,” Hiro replied.

“What do you want from us?” one of the kids asked.

“We only want what is best for you,” Hiro answered truthfully.

“Best for us?” another one of the kids asked.

“I don’t really care who you are but I want you to tell me why you felt the need to come here,” Hiro requested.

“You two first. I'm guessing that you’re related,” Hiro said and looked at two of the kids. A boy and a girl, holding hands.

“Yeah, we’re twins,” the girl confirmed.

“So, what’s you’re excuse?” Hiro asked.

“I’m only here because he insisted that I come,” the girl shifted the blame to her brother.

“Not even remotely true, she’s been begging me to take her for a while. I finally caved tonight,” the boy defended.

“Ooh, dishonesty,” Hiro shook his head. “You know that lying doesn’t make things better in almost all cases.”

The twins blushed at Hiro's comment.

“Please, don’t cause us harm…,” they pleaded.

“Captain,” Hiro finished.

“Captain who. And of what?” the boy asked.

“Haven’t had time to think of a fitting name. And I’m the captain of Big Hero 7.” Hiro introduced.

“What kind of group is that?” the girl asked.

“Just a group of friends who are going to protect the city from whatever comes up,” Hiro replied.

“But we’re not a threat, neither is bot-fighting,” the boy asked with a confused expression.

“That’s where you’re wrong. These illegal bot-fights very much are a threat especially to kids like you,” Hiro lectured.

“How would they be a threat?” the girl asked. Hiro could tell that she was trying to come up with at least one reason to feel threatened.

“I’ll tell you a secret from personal experience. Those guys don’t like losing, like at all,” Hiro revealed.

“Yeah, they literally beat me unconscious when I won. If it hadn’t been for Captain, then I would be dead,” Jack shared his side.

“Oh, that’s bad. We’ve been incredibly lucky to not win,” the girl exclaimed in shock.

“But if not here, then where? Are there any safe places?” the boy asked defeated.

“Oh, loads. Though in my opinion, the one at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology is the best,” Hiro enlightened.

GoGo tried to take a swift exit but Hiro grabbed her with the Microbots. The younger kids looked at that in awe.

“Don’t you go anywhere miss,” Hiro said to GoGo.

“That’s so cool,” the twins were geeking out over the Microbots.

“Oh, right. Why did you come here?” Hiro asked the boy, remembering the original question.

“I initially just wanted to get some pocket money, but it quickly grew out of hand,” the boy admitted.

“I understand you perfectly. I’ve been there myself,” Hiro consoled.

“Ok, you two can go back home. And promise me to never return here,” Hiro addressed the twins.

Hiro watched the twins depart at a brisk pace.

* * *

“So, what’s your story?” Hiro asked, turning to the third kid.

“I’ve been tinkering with battle-bots, which I’ve built from parts which I’ve obtained from dumpster diving at my dad’s work,” the kid answered. “And I wanted to test it.”

“And where does your dad work?” Hiro asked.

The kid didn’t have time to answer.

“Alan James Krei, what on earth are you doing here at this hour?” Krei reprimanded.

_‘Since when has Krei had kids?’_ Hiro wondered.

“I was going to bot-fight, but I was stopped by these two,” the kid gestured to Hiro and Jack.

“Good evening, Mr. Krei. Small world isn’t it?” Hiro asked.

“Do I know you?” Krei asked genuinely curious.

Hiro raised his hand and the spikes on it rose. His signature move.

Krei took an instinctive step back.

“What are you doing here?” Krei asked when he had recovered from the shock.

“I'm stopping kids from potentially getting hurt by bad losers,” Hiro explained.

“And who are you? Other than the person, who stopped the robot.” Krei asked.

“I'm the Captain of Big Hero 7,” Hiro revealed.

“Big Hero 7, what is that?” Krei asked curiously.

“You could maybe compare us to Avengers in a way,” Hiro said mysteriously.

“But I think you two should get going, just in case the police arrive earlier than expected,” Hiro warned.

“Good point. Let’s leave dad,” the kid said and started pulling Krei away.

They then took off in a hurry.

* * *

“Now, miss,” Hiro addressed GoGo, “Why did you come here?”

“Why do you care?” GoGo asked, aggravated by the situation.

“I'm just curious,” Hiro replied.

“Well I'm not going to tell you…or anyone else,” GoGo stated.

“Fine, if you don’t want to talk. I might just have to tell your friends,” Hiro threatened.

“You don’t even know me. How can you claim to know my friends?” GoGo asked, oblivious to what was going on.

“How can you be so sure that I don’t know you?” Hiro taunted.

“Because I’ve never met you,” GoGo said confidently.

“Anyhow, a picture of you back there will be going to your friends in five, four, three, two, one, zero.”

* * *

SFIT Nerds Group chat.

**Hiro** : WTAF, GoGo? [Insert image of GoGo in good luck alley.]

**Tadashi** : Is that real?

**Wasabi** : Something is fishy.

**Honey** **Lemon** : Is there something wrong with her.

**Fred** : How did you find her?

* * *

“WHAT?” GoGo exclaimed. “Are you saying that you’re Hiro?”

“Maybe, though let’s get out of here, as I'm going to call the cops.” Hiro gathered the three of them onto the Microbots.

When they were a safe distance away from good luck alley, Hiro sent an anonymous tip to the police concerning the shady activities.

“So, are you Hiro or not?” GoGo asked impatiently as Hiro walked to a small alleyway.

“Yes,” Hiro replied and he revealed his head from within the Microbots.

“Would not have guessed,” GoGo whistled.

“That was actually a very good test,” Hiro chuckled.

“How so?”

“Did you recognize my Microbots?” Hiro asked, moving the Microbots around.

“These are your Microbots,” GoGo asked with a shocked expression.

“Yes, they are. Though I have made a minor upgrade to them,” Hiro revealed.

“What kind of upgrade?” GoGo asked curiously.

Hiro made the bots do a color wave.

“What? Am I seeing things?” GoGo asked dumbfounded.

“You are not. They are actually changing color,” Hiro reassured.

“That leads me to the next topic. Why are you running around good luck alley wearing Microbots?” GoGo raised an eyebrow.

“I'm a superhero now remember. Everything I said to Krei and the kids still holds,” Hiro replied.

“So there are others?” GoGo verified.

“Yes, seven of us in total,” Hiro revealed.

“What would Tadashi say if he knew you were here?” GoGo asked.

“He knows,” Hiro said truthfully.

“And he didn’t try to stop you?” GoGo asked.

“He saw the reasons for why I would do it. Those three kids, I don’t want to think of the day they happen to win,” Hiro shivered.

“Yeah, they would have ended up like me…or worse,” Jack piped in.

“And who are you?” GoGo asked.

“One of my friends,” Hiro said. “Anyhow, we’ll leave you to think of how you’re going to explain this to our friends,” Hiro said and gave GoGo a mischievous smile before helmeting up.

“See you tomorrow,” Hiro said and took off.

* * *

Hiro arrived home shortly after. Tadashi was wide awake when he got to their room.

“When I told you to tell if you found any familiar faces, this wasn’t what I had in mind,” Tadashi chuckled.

“Well, yeah. Don’t think it wasn’t a shock to me as well,” Hiro agreed.

“How did it go with her?” Tadashi asked.

“Too reluctant to tell me the reason, had to threaten with telling her friends, you saw the picture. Thus she figured out I was Hiro,” Hiro replied.

“How much does she know?” Tadashi asked.

“Only that I am a superhero, with 6 other friends. And that you’re supportive of me doing it. Nothing else,” Hiro informed.

“So only the bare minimum,” Tadashi nodded.

“Shall we get popcorn and watch how GoGo talks herself out of the hole she dug for herself,” Hiro suggested.

“Totally, I’ll make the popcorn,” Tadashi agreed and headed downstairs. Not long after he returned with a bag of popcorn.

They got comfortable on Hiro’s bed.

* * *

SFIT Nerds Group Chat.

**Hiro** : So, GoGo. Care to explain?

**Wasabi** : Yeah, what is this about?

**Honey** **Lemon** : Please tell us if something is wrong.

**Fred** : Hiro, dude. How did you get this picture?

**Hiro** : [Full video from his body-cam. (no audio)]

**Wasabi** : You busted a bot-fight?

**Hiro** : Yeah, just coincidence that GoGo was there.

**Honey** **Lemon** : Are those kids okay?

**Hiro** : From the police? Yes, bot-fighters? Yes, parents? Potentially.

**Honey** **Lemon** : That’s a relief.

**Tadashi** : GoGo?

**GoGo** : What?

**Hiro** : Talk…or I will mesmerize you to do so when we next meet.

**GoGo** : I'm in financial difficulties. My refrigerator broke and I had to get a new one. Now I'm in the negative.

**Honey** **Lemon** : You know you should have just asked us for help instead of turning to illegalities.

**Wasabi** : Totally, we’re more than happy to pitch in.

**Hiro** : Same

**Tadashi** : Same, though only a little.

**Hiro** : See, you should trust your friends when you need them.

**GoGo** : You’re right, Hiro. And thank you.

**Hiro** : Nah, it was nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: An emergency.


	47. The Aftermath – Unexpected Friendship?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Hiro's actions from the previous night. Hiro also makes an unexpected friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~5800 words
> 
> Yeah, sorry. The emergency happens later, plans changed.

It was the next morning and Megan was eating her breakfast when her dad walked in.

“Morning, Dad,” she greeted.

“Morning to you as well,” the chief replied.

“How was your yesterday?” Megan asked.

“Crazy to say the least,” he sighed.

“How so?” Megan asked though she suspected that it could be Hiro’s friends doing.

“We got an influx of shoplifters yesterday,” he said.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Megan asked.

“Yes, and no,” he sighed. “It’s good that they got caught, but bad because it was done by some vigilantes.”

“Why is that a bad thing?” Megan asked innocently.

“Because vigilantes attract villains and villains kill people,” he explained.

“Your logic is flawed,” Megan pointed out. “Superheroes are always brought about by some tragedy. And not all superheroes are crime fighters.”

“This was only the first half of the vigilantism going on. Another instance was with an illegal bot-fight,” he said.

“Oh,” Megan raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, some two masked people showed up and took all of the kids from there before calling the cops on the fighters,” he said. “That vigilante is helping criminals.”

“That’s quite something, but I'm certain that it is not what it looks like,” Megan reasoned.

“How could it be anything but?” he responded in disbelief.

* * *

Hiro and Tadashi were on their way to school when Megan texted him.

_I just figured out that my dad might be a potential threat to us._

How so?

_He seems to be somewhat hero-phobic._

That is a potential issue. I guess that we have to keep our doings in the shadows.

_Yeah, that’s probably for the best._

Well, see you sometime?

_Movies, tonight?_

Sure.

_Bye. I have to leave for school._

See you tonight, bye.

Hiro was not super worried by this change of events. Though he wondered how Megan would fare since she would have to lie to her dad's face if he started asking questions.

Hiro then sent a summary of the news to the members of Big Hero 7.

* * *

Megan arrived at her school and she spotted a large group of students gathered around. She decided to investigate.

“Excuse me, what is going on here?” she asked from one of the listeners.

“These twins here are telling us the story of how they narrowly avoided a potentially brutal beating at a bot-fight,” someone said.

“Ooh, interesting. What happened?” Megan played the ignorant card.

“If this is even remotely true, then some masked people showed up and asked them to follow him out, along with a few other kids,” the listener explained. “By their words, it was totally badass. The person apparently said that he is a leader of this group called Big Hero 7 or something.”

“Apparently he also had the most high-tech armor ever. Like something totally sci-fi,” the listener added. “You should really ask them yourself when you get the chance, though I don’t personally believe them.”

“That’s cool. I guess that I’ll have to hear them before making up my mind,” Megan nodded and walked some distance away.

* * *

Hiro had a fairly uneventful morning. He was eating lunch with his nerd friends when Wasabi suddenly thought of something.

“Hiro, I’ve been meaning to ask. Why did you decide to crash that bot-fight?” Wasabi asked.

“I had this feeling yesterday morning that if I didn’t, then something bad would potentially happen,” Hiro explained. “Besides, my previous experiences with that place have not exactly been pleasant.”

Wasabi nodded thoughtfully.

“Those upgrades you made to the Microbots were cool,” Fred piped in. “Why didn’t you share them with us?”

“I have my reasons,” Hiro replied and distracted himself with his food.

“Please,” Fred tried, lengthening the ‘e’ to a ridiculous length.

“No, I will not tell you,” Hiro insisted.

“I may know the reason,” GoGo said suddenly.

“And you are not going to tell anyone either,” Hiro said and glared at GoGo.

“Who are you to stop me?” GoGo asked defiantly.

“I’d be careful with what you wish for,” Tadashi warned and took a slight glance at Hiro.

“Wise words,” Hiro noted.

“You wouldn’t dare do it,” GoGo said.

Hiro got a malicious smile.

“We’ll see about that,” he said and infiltrated GoGo’s head. Just like that, he had made her mute.

Wasabi and Honey Lemon gasped when Hiro’s eyes turned the telltale color of cyan.

“What did you do?” Honey Lemon asked when Hiro had returned back to normal.

“Why don’t you ask her instead. I'm sure you’ll figure it out,” Hiro said and gave GoGo a crooked grin.

GoGo opened her mouth to say something but nothing comprehensible came out.

“What? Can’t hear you,” Hiro taunted.

“Oh, it looks like I have to go. My classes start soon,” Hiro said and got up.

GoGo looked pleadingly at him, even going as far as making puppy dog eyes.

Hiro sighed audibly before speaking, “I guess that I could let you speak again. But you have to shut up about everything you heard me say yesterday. Do we have a deal?”

GoGo nodded her head vigorously.

“Alright,” Hiro said and reversed the block.

“I had no idea you could do something like that,” GoGo breathed out when she realized she could talk again.

“You’re lucky,” Tadashi said, “he could have paralyzed you.”

“You’re joking!” Fred exclaimed.

“I'm not, I’ve seen it with my own eyes, though that time it was an accident,” Tadashi insisted.

“Like I said, I have classes starting. See you when I see you,” Hiro called out before disappearing behind the corner.

* * *

Around lunchtime, Megan spotted the twins alone. She could tell that they were exhausted from the bombardment of questions.

She also noticed a lone kid who was dressed very fancy, way fancier than any other kid at the school.

This seemed odd to her. She had never seen the kid before, though she rarely paid attention to people around her anyway.

She decided to approach him.

“Hey,” she started.

“H-hi,” the kid stammered.

“What’s your name?” Megan asked.

“Alan Krei,” the kid replied.

“Nice to meet you, Alan,” Megan smiled. “Why are you all alone?”

“No one wants to be my friend. They just pretend to be my friends cause I have money,” the boy explained.

“I get the hint. My boyfriend had similar sorts of problems, and some others on top of that as well,” Megan revealed.

“Is he rich as well?” the boy asked.

“I don’t exactly know what his savings look like, but he isn’t super-rich, that much I do know,” Megan answered.

“What makes him so special then?” the kid asked warily.

“He’s far above his peers in the intelligence department,” Megan revealed.

“I see, but couldn’t he just fake being dumber?” he asked.

“He could, but there is also the fact that he has been flying through school at an accelerated rate,” Megan said.

“How fast?” the kid asked intrigued.

“He started at SFIT this fall,” Megan beamed.

“Really. Wait?! How old is he?” the kid asked suspiciously.

“Fourteen, like me,” Megan replied.

“You must be joking! There is no way,” the kid insisted.

“Would you like to meet him?” Megan suggested. “That way you could see for yourself.”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to seem pushy,” the kid said hesitantly.

“If you’re into bot-fighting or interested in trying, then that is the perfect excuse,” Megan said.

“Is he into it?” the kid asked eagerly.

“Into it? No, that’s an understatement. He is even hosting a bot-fighting club,” Megan replied.

“Sweet. I'm into it as well. When can I meet him?” the kid asked hastily. His hesitation had been completely wiped away.

“Let me ask him,” Megan said and pulled out her phone and texted Hiro.

* * *

Hi, Hiro.

_Megan? Something wrong._

No, just met this lonely kid, who has issues getting friends due to his wealth.

_What about him?_

I shared with him about how you have had issues with the same thing, though for different reasons. And now he wants to meet you.

_I see. He didn’t believe that I go to SFIT?_

10 Points.

_I'm free whenever after four. What’s his name?_

Alan Krei.

_That’s one of the kids I dragged out of good luck alley._

Were there also two twins?

_Yes._

Well, all three go to my school. And the twins seem to be absolutely exhausted. They were absolutely swarmed this morning.

_He is a bot-fighter. How about I swing by home to get my bot and then I come to pick you and him up today after school?_

Fine with me. What time does your school end?

_Such that I’ll be there about 3 PM._

That’s perfect, my school ends just before as well.

“How do you have school today?” Megan asked the kid.

“Ends at three,” the kid replied.

“Great,” Megan smiled.

Good news! We’re both free at three.

_Great. Does he have his bot?_

“Do you have your bot with you?” Megan asked.

“I do, I was planning on going bot-fighting after school,” the kid revealed.

“Where, if I may ask,” Megan asked.

“To good luck alley,” the kid replied.

He does have his bot. Was planning on going to good luck alley after school.

_For fuck’s sake. I just yesterday lectured the kid about good luck alley._

Maybe you can talk some sense into him as yourself.

_I sure hope so._

We’ll I have to go and see how those twins are holding up.

_See you later._

Likewise.

“He is going to pick us up at 3 PM,” Megan said.

“How? He can’t have a license yet,” the kid asked.

“You’ll see,” Megan smiled and headed toward the twins.

* * *

Around 1 PM Hiro got a text message from Ben.

_Had my first school day since then._

Really? How did it go?

_About as bad as it can go. I have been singled out by all of the school's bullies it seems._

That sucks.

_Totally. It doesn’t help that I'm this eternal pushover. Even when I'm older than the rest of them._

Would you want me to take you to school tomorrow and maybe teach them a lesson in respect?

_It would mean the world to me._

See you tomorrow then.

_Ok, bye._

Bye.

Hiro couldn’t understand how inconsiderate some people were. Though he suspected that it could be ignorance since to them Ben had to retake the year multiple times.

* * *

Megan walked up to the twins who were sitting together on a bench.

“What do you want?” the girl asked.

“I just want to know how you're holding up,” Megan assured. “You’ve had a crazy day yesterday, after all.”

“Talk about it. Being dragged from a bot-fight by superheroes and then told that we could have gotten seriously hurt and the sent home,” the boy replied.

“Aren't you the journalist who wrote the article about SFIT robotics?” the girl asked.

“I am,” Megan nodded.

“Could you write a small article on how those heroes saved us?” the boy asked hesitantly.

“I’ll have to think about it. But I'm open to the idea, so let’s at least get everything on tape,” Megan said and took out her phone and opened the audio recorder.

She then interviewed the twins about last night’s happenings.

“Thank you for your time. I think I can make something out of this,” Megan said and got up.

“Thank you also,” the girl replied.

“I won't be using my real name, since my dad doesn’t like these heroes running around for some reason,” Megan informed.

“That’s cool,” The twins nodded. Megan looked at the clock and realized that her classes would start soon.

* * *

Megan and Alan were waiting by the school door for Hiro to arrive. She wasn’t disappointed. Hiro arrived on the Microbots right around 3 PM. She also noticed that Hiro was using his neurotransmitter.

“Hi Megan,” Hiro greeted as he shed the Microbots.

“Hi, Hiro. Glad you could make it,” Megan replied.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Hiro smiled.

“And you must be Alan,” Hiro stated and turned to face the kid.

“I am,” he blushed as Hiro addressed him. Hiro noticed that.

“Why are you blushing? Am I too intimidating or something?” Hiro joked.

“No, I'm just like this whenever I meet new people,” Alan explained.

“I understand,” Hiro nodded. “Where should we go?”

“Beats me,” Megan said and shook her shoulders.

“Do you have any place where you would like to go?” Hiro asked Alan.

“I’d like to go bot-fighting,” Alan replied.

“Sure. Do you have a place in mind?” Hiro asked.

“I was going to go to good luck alley,” Alan replied. He winced when he noticed how Hiro stiffened at the mention of the words.

“Really? Tell me one good reason to go there,” Hiro requested.

“It’s fun?” he replied.

“Oh, in my opinion, the risk of being beaten to a pulp is not what I would call ‘fun’,” Hiro retorted.

“Oh, right. I forgot,” Alan said quietly.

“What did you forget?” Hiro asked.

“When the masked people dragged us out of there they lectured us on the dangers of that place. I have no idea why I even considered going back there,” Alan admitted.

Hiro nodded in understanding. “I think we’ll go over to my school and find a nice place to chat there,” he suggested.

“Yeah sure,” Alan agreed. “How are we going to go there?”

“The same way I came here. With these,” Hiro said and moved the Microbots around.

“Wow, that’s cool. Is this your invention?” Alan asked amazed by the Microbots.

“Yeah, I got myself into SFIT with these guys,” Hiro smiled.

“So, you were telling the truth,” Alan said and turned to Megan. “I'm sorry that I doubted you.”

“It’s okay. After all, it's not every day you see a fourteen-year-old in college,” Megan agreed.

“Shall we get going?” Hiro asked.

“Yes,” Alan said hesitantly.

“Ok then,” Hiro noted and swooped the three of them from the ground. “It’s gonna be fast.”

“R-really? I’m not a fan of high speeds,” Alan stammered hesitantly.

“Why? Past tragedy?” Hiro questioned.

“Yeah. My parents died in a car accident a few years back. Someone was speeding, lost control, and drove over them. There was no chance of saving neither of them,” Alan said shakily.

“I'm so sorry,” Hiro consoled. He could tell that the kid was on the edge of tears.

“It’s okay. I'm living with Krei now,” Alan acknowledged.

“So, you’re adopted?” Hiro confirmed.

“Yes, about a week ago?” Alan replied.

“A week? Why would Krei, a man who only cares about business, even at the expense of other people’s lives, adopt a kid?” Hiro wondered out loud.

“What are you saying? Alistair’s been nothing but good to me,” Alan replied.

“Well, he has done some less than legal and morally questionable things in the past,” Hiro replied.

“Like what?” Alan questioned.

“I’ll tell you when we’re in a bit more of a private setting,” Hiro agreed.

“Ok,” Alan nodded.

“I have lost both of my parents as well,” Hiro shared.

“How?” Alan asked.

“Head-on collision,” Hiro replied.

“Do you miss them?” Alan asked.

“I was three when it happened. So I don’t honestly remember much about them. Luckily, I still have my brother Tadashi with me,” Hiro answered.

“Oh. I didn’t know,” Alan replied.

“How could you have?” Hiro joked.

“We’re going now. And I’ll take it slow if you want,” Hiro informed and they took off at what could be described as running speed.

* * *

“What a ride,” Alan said when Hiro him out of the Microbots embrace.

“I know,” Hiro agreed, “especially when going super-fast.”

“Shall we go to my lab?” Hiro suggested, looking at the clock.

“You have a private lab?” Alan asked in awe.

“Well, technically it’s shared with my brother,” Hiro replied.

“What are we waiting for?” Alan asked eagerly.

“Someone’s excited,” Hiro teased.

“Maybe a tad. I’ve been really interested in robotics for a while, and I will definitely apply here when I grow older,” Alan said excitedly.

“Wow!” Alan exclaimed when they entered the robotics lab.

Hiro grabbed onto Alan’s shirt collar just in time.

“Heads up!”

Alan jumped back out of instinct as someone on a bike whizzed past them. He looked at Hiro questioningly.

“What? I was almost run over the same way when I first came here,” Hiro said.

“How’s the bike going GoGo?” Hiro asked the girl in question as they approached.

“Getting there. I thought you already went home for the day. And who’s the kid?” GoGo asked and looked at Alan inquisitively.

“Wow! Electro-mag suspension?” Alan admired the levitating wheels.

“Zero resistance, faster bike,” GoGo confirmed.

“That’s cool,” Alan noted.

“If that’s cool, then you should see what other things the nerds here have made,” Hiro calmed the boy.

Alan looked around and started walking toward Wasabi’s corner.

Hiro didn’t notice this as he was exchanging a few ideas about the bike.

He then glanced to his left and saw Alan heading directly for the plasma field, and the man himself was nowhere to be seen.

Hiro had no other option than to tap into the field and turn it off. He managed to do so mere seconds before Alan would have been sliced alive.

Hiro rushed to Alan who had frozen due to the sudden noise made by the plasma field deactivating.

“Are you okay?” He asked quickly.

“Yeah, I think so?” Alan replied and looked through his hands for any signs of damage. “What even was that?”

“Me turning of a plasma field remotely,” Hiro explained.

“How?” Alan asked.

“That’s not important. The only thing that matters is that I did. And in doing so prevented you from being sliced apart,” Hiro explained, calming down a little from the adrenaline rush.

“Now where is the irresponsible man hiding?” Hiro looked around the room furiously.

Not a minute later Wasabi appeared from the bathroom. He winced under Hiro’s stern gaze.

“H-hi Hiro, is-is something wrong?” Wasabi stammered.

“Did you perchance forget something before leaving this thing unattended?” Hiro asked and pointed to the plasma field.

“I left it on when I went to go to the toilet,” Wasabi said. “Do you mean that someone got hurt in my absence?”

“Almost did. You’re lucky that I was faster up here,” Hiro replied and pointed to his own head.

“Who was it?” Wasabi asked worriedly.

“This kid from Megan’s school who is super into robotics. I'm touring the lab for him,” Hiro explained.

Wasabi turned to look at the kid, who was partly trying to hide behind Hiro.

“Hey man. I’m sorry that my negligence was almost catastrophic,” Wasabi addressed the kid awkwardly.

“What he means is that he’s sorry,” GoGo piped in.

“It’s okay. I'm still in one piece,” Alan reassured. “Mind introducing your invention?”

“Yeah, sure,” Wasabi shrugged his shoulders and turned the contraption back on.

“Catch,” he said and thew and apple toward Alan through the field.

“Wow!” Alan exclaimed as he witnessed the apple being cut to paper-thin slices. “Laser-induced plasma?”

“Yeah, with a little magnetic confinement for ultra-precision,” wasabi confirmed.

“You seem to know quite a lot for a middle schooler,” Megan pointed out.

“You noticed it too,” Hiro agreed. “Is there something you’re not telling us?”

Alan got flustered and awkward.

“Yep, you totally have some secret. Though it can wait until we’re in a private setting,” Hiro noted.

Alan looked frantically around the room. In Hiro’s opinion, this looked like he was desperately looking for an escape route or was fearing that someone would jump on him.

“Relax, no one's out to get you,” Hiro calmed Alan. “Let’s go to my lab and see what Tadashi’s up to.”

Hiro then started walking toward the lab in question with the two other kids following him.

“Knock, knock. You busy?” Hiro asked as he opened the door.

“Oh, Hiro. I thought you left already,” Tadashi said.

“I did leave and then I came back with some friends,” Hiro replied.

“I see,” Tadashi said. “Come on in.”

“So this is your lab?” Alan asked in awe.

“It is, or more precisely that side is,” Hiro said and pointed to the messier side of the room.

“What a mess,” Alan exclaimed.

“it’s not a mess, it’s organized chaos,” Hiro defended.

“Is Baymax available?” Hiro asked his brother.

“Yes, he is. You’ll know how to get him out,” Tadashi confirmed.

“Who’s Baymax?” Alan asked curiously.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen him either,” Megan added.

“Oh, I guess that I have to introduce him to you,” Hiro chuckled and walked over to the red case.

“Ow,” Hiro made the activation noise.

“Hello. I am Baymax. Your personal healthcare companion,” Baymax introduced. “I was alerted to the need for medical attention when you said ‘ow’.”

“A robotic nurse?” Alan asked half-amused, half hesitant.

“What seems to be the problem, Hiro?” Baymax asked with its familiar semi-robotic voice.

“Just introducing you to some friends,” Hiro explained.

“Alan, come here please,” Hiro requested.

“Why?” Alan asked hesitantly.

“I just want to see if you’re ok. And besides, it’s a giant robot with some dope tech,” Hiro replied.

Alan sighed, knowing that he wouldn’t get out of this scot-free. Thus he walked over to the giant marshmallow robot.

“Scan him,” Hiro requested.

“Scan complete. I have detected multiple foreign objects inside his cra…” Baymax stopped mid-word.

Hiro looked at Tadashi, who gave an equally confused look back.

Hiro then turned to look at Alan questioningly.

“Out with the secrets, okay?” Hiro said looking at Alan in the eyes.

“I didn’t do anything?” the kid defended.

“I somehow doubt that,” Hiro replied. “Baymax doesn’t just stop mid-word, especially when no one is stopping it. Unless someone is stopping him.”

Alan’s eyes widened in fear.

* * *

Alan’s POV

_Oh, shit. Does he suspect something? Did I go too far earlier and now this?_

“I didn’t do anything I swear,” I tried again, hoping that something would be different.

“You said that already, and I still doubt it,” Hiro replied. “Besides, Baymax already said that you have foreign objects in your body.”

_I'm screwed. They know that I have my fingers in this and I bet you that Hiro won't let it slide._

_Maybe I could cause a ruckus and escape under its cover._

I started looking for a suitable distraction.

“Thinking of slipping away?” I heard Hiro ask.

“N-no, I-I was just looking around,” I tried my luck.

“Why are you so afraid to share what is going on inside you?” Hiro asked.

I was taken aback by his tone. He wasn’t demanding me to answer, instead, he sounded genuinely worried.

“It’s just that my parents have told me my entire life to never tell about it to anyone,” I explained hesitantly.

“Would it help if it was just us two?” Hiro suggested without hesitation.

I considered this for a moment. I then realized that he doesn’t care for my special abilities. He cares about me as a whole.

“I think so,” I finally said.

“You heard him,” Hiro reiterated. “Baymax, I'm satisfied with my care.”

Soon the room was devoid of people, and robots, other than Hiro and me.

“So what secrets are you holding?” Hiro asked curiously.

“I guess that I should start from the beginning,” I said.

* * *

10 years ago.

I was a little kid living a normal life with scientist parents.

Dad was an expert on brain science and Mom was an expert on computer interfaces.

They had designed an intracranial brain-computer interface.

Then they ran into a snag. No one was willing to volunteer for testing.

And that’s where the four-year-old me comes in.

///

“Hold up! Is this going where I think it is going?” Hiro interjected.

“We’ll see,” I replied.

///

One morning my parents came to me.

This was unusual, considering that they usually spent time in the lab all day, leaving me to my own devices for the most part of the day.

My mom asked me if I wanted to volunteer for an experiment.

Four-year-old me didn’t understand what that would entail and I said yes.

The surgery went well, though I remember how I had major headaches for months following the procedure.

///

“How is it now?” Hiro asked.

“I don’t really think about it. Living in an orphanage has not exactly been an environment where I could, considering the fear of someone finding out,” I replied.

///

For the following eight years my parents would teach me how to use my ability, though it hasn’t been of much practical use, since I can basically only communicate in binary.

Then two years ago my parents died tragically, their last words were to never tell anyone, or they’ll use me.

* * *

Return to the present.

“So, if I understood correctly. You’re parents used you for their experiment and you’ve been hiding the results for ten years?” Hiro verified.

“Pretty much,” I confirmed.

“You said that you can only communicate in binary. Nothing else?” Hiro asked curiously.

“Yeah, it’s a lot of trial and error,” I answered truthfully.

“And I'm the first to know about this?” Hiro verified.

“Yes, no one else, not even Alistair knows,” I confirmed.

“And that’s a good thing,” Hiro replied.

“Why?” I asked in confusion.

“Remember when I said that he isn’t the best person?” Hiro asked.

“Yes,” I answered as I wondered where this was going.

“We’ll Mr. Krei here is behind the showcase fire that was almost a tragedy,” Hiro started.

“Really? How come he isn’t in jail?” I asked in shock by this revelation.

“Because there isn’t official evidence backing it up,” Hiro explained.

“How do you know?” I asked curiously.

“I may have used some intimidation tactics to get the truth out of him,” Hiro revealed.

“What?! Really? No way!” I exclaimed.

_There is no way that Hiro would ever be able to intimidate my new dad._

“I'm not joking?” Hiro insisted. “But there is also another incident involving Krei.”

“What kind of incident?” I asked hesitantly.

“He kidnapped a kid and experimented on him, well more like ordered him to do something he didn’t even know he could do. It wasn’t pretty,” Hiro told Ben’s story.

“Who is this kid? Is he safe?” I worried,

“A friend of mine. And yes, I got him out of there,” Hiro answered.

“Why was he kidnapped?” I inquired.

“For the same reason that you fear the same thing?” Hiro hinted.

“You mean that he has a BCI in his head as well,” I asked in shock.

“No, but he does have some innate abilities,” Hiro replied.

_What? So me having seemingly supernatural abilities isn’t news to him._

“Could I meet him someday? And what kind of abilities are we talking about?” I asked.

“I'm sure of it and he is a technopath,” Hiro answered my questions.

“Like seriously? No tech or anything?” I asked in disbelief.

“Nope. Not to my knowledge,” Hiro replied.

_Why am I not scared to death right now? I just told this half stranger my most sacred secret and yet I feel like nothing can get to me as long as he’s here. There is just something about him._

“Why is it that I get a feeling of being safe when I'm around you?” I decided to ask for his opinion.

“I don’t know. It could be the fact that we have so much in common,” Hiro replied.

_That’s a good point._

I just nodded in understanding.

“Oh, right. Let’s get back to you and Krei,” Hiro said suddenly.

“Yeah, it’s probably for the best that I don’t tell him anything,” I agreed.

“It still bothers me how he chose you specifically. Could there be some connection?” Hiro thought out loud.

_Oh, god. What if he’s right._

“Luckily, we can find that out,” Hiro answered my unspoken question.

“How?” I asked eagerly. I wanted to be sure if I would be safe around Krei.

“Well, to tell you the truth. I am also a technopath,” Hiro dropped the bombshell.

“Seriously?” I asked, taken aback by this revelation.

“Yeah. And as a technopath. Mind reading comes as a freebie,” Hiro grinned.

“No way?” I asked in disbelief.

“I'm serious,” Hiro insisted. “I can also do things which you wouldn’t even think possible.”

_Surely he’s just playing with me._

“Sure, whatever you say,” I said out loud, though I'm fairly certain that he picked up on the sarcasm.

“Where do we go from here?” Hiro asked after a moment of silence.

“I don’t know. I guess that we should go talk to Alistair,” I finally said.

“Yeah, we should,” Hiro agreed, nodding his head. “There is one more question I’d like to ask you.”

“What about?” I asked with concern.

“Do you want to keep this between us or do you want to share it with some of my other friends?” Hiro asked. I was not expecting that kind of a question.

“I don’t know. On one hand, I'm fed up with hiding. But on the other, I don’t know if I can trust them. Besides, you would just tell them anyway,” I sighed, not even knowing how I felt about this.

“Your secret is safe with me if that is what you want,” Hiro reassured. “And my friends are cool with me having abilities.”

“I guess that I could eventually but not today or tomorrow,” I replied hesitantly.

“That’s okay. There is no rush,” Hiro nodded.

“It’s a deal then,” I agreed.

* * *

General POV

Hiro and Alan walked out of his lab. To no one's surprise, everyone had gathered in front of the door.

“Were you trying to eavesdrop on us?” Hiro raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“No, we’re just eager to know what you were talking about for so long,” Megan explained.

“Too bad. Since I promised to keep it between us. And until he feels comfortable telling then I won't either,” Hiro replied matter-of-factly.

“Oh, please, Hiro. You never keep secrets from me,” Tadashi pleaded.

“How would you know? After all, that’s the definition of a secret,” Hiro joked. “But let’s just say that he is special.”

“In what way?” Wasabi asked.

“No more on that subject. Dashi, do you have the micro-phone with you?” Hiro asked his brother.

“What microphone?” Alan asked, surprised by the seemingly random question.

“Yeah. Why do you ask?” Tadashi answered.

“I have come to the conclusion that Alan here needs it more,” Hiro replied.

“Why?” Tadashi questioned.

“He was adopted by Krei. He is special. We all know how that went,” Hiro explained. “I want him to have the means of contacting us in case something unexpected happens.”

“Oh, I see. You’re worried that something like that happens to him?” Tadashi asked. He was being vague because he didn’t know how much Hiro had shared with the kid.

“Yeah, or potentially something even worse,” Hiro sighed.

“I understand. And I suspect that you’ll build me another one anyway,” Tadashi smiled and gave Hiro the earpiece.

“You’re not wrong,” Hiro chuckled, then turning to Alan.

“This is a micro-phone,” Hiro introduced the small device.

“What does it do?” Alan asked, intrigued by the device in Hiro's hands.

“It’s a miniature phone. Essentially one-button dial to me,” Hiro explained.

“But wouldn’t it be obvious if I started talking to someone in case I was kidnapped?” Alan asked in confusion.

“It picks up on your thoughts of what you want to say. Thus calling with it is silent,” Hiro revealed.

“Something like what I have but in reverse?” Alan verified, realizing his mistake a second too late.

His eyes widened and he looked at Hiro with a panicked expression.

Hiro placed his arm on Alan’s shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.

Luckily, it seemed that the others hadn’t picked up on this slip-up.

“Anyhow. I want you to keep this on you at all times,” Hiro instructed.

“I-I will,” Alan acknowledged, though he was still a bit shaken from the almost outing.

“Ok, Dashi. Will you take Megan home?” Hiro asked. “Certain businessman might need a visit from the cactus.”

“Ok, have fun.” Tadashi nodded. This was Hiro’s sign to exit, Alan right on his tail.

* * *

“That was way too close for comfort,” Alan sighed when they were outside the building.

“Yeah, but I don’t think they would have been able to pick it up with the context they had,” Hiro agreed. Gathering the Microbots around him.

“Ready to go? You’ll have to tell me where though,” Hiro asked.

“Yeah. Do you mind if I ask a few questions?” Alan asked shamefully.

“Go ahead,” Hiro encouraged.

“How do you know so much about Alistair’s activities?” Alan asked curiously.

“I’ve used alter ego intimidation and some mind tricks to get him to agree,” Hiro replied.

“How do you intimidate him?” Alan asked.

“Remember last night?” Hiro asked cryptically.

“What about it? How do you even know about it?” Alan asked.

“What if I do this?” Hiro asked and switched to the other purple visor along with making the Microbots silvery.

“You?! Were you the mysterious being who got dragged me along with those kids from the bot-fight?” Alan asked in shock.

“Yes, it was me,” Hiro confirmed.

“Why did you do it?” Alan asked curiously.

“Because I’ve been on both ends of the barrel. Both almost being beaten up, and seeing someone you care for being beaten up,” Hiro replied.

“I just couldn’t let that happen to anyone else,” Hiro explained.

“I see,” Alan nodded. “You must have been somewhat disappointed in me when I told you that I wanted to go back to good luck alley?”

“Yeah, I was. Lucky for you that Megan told me about it in her text message, so I had some time to calm down,” Hiro remarked.

“We didn’t exactly get to the bot-fighting part,” Alan said after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah. Kind of forgot about that. But business before pleasure, amirite?” Hiro replied.

“How about on Friday? Our bot-fighting club forms then, and most of my friends will be there as well,” Hiro suggested.

“Sounds good,” Alan agreed.

“Do you know if the original plans for your implanted transmitter are still in existence?” Hiro asked suddenly.

“Why do you ask?” Alan asked warily.

“I'm just curious on why you can only communicate in binary,” Hiro spoke his thoughts.

“So you’re thinking if there is some way to improve it?” Alan asked.

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” Hiro confirmed.

“Well then. If there is anything left, they’re probably in the basement lab of my old home,” Alan guessed.

“Who owns the house right now?” Hiro asked.

“It’s in my name, and no-one is actively living there,” Alan replied.

“Great, then we should pay it a visit someday soon,” Hiro nodded.

“We could do it tomorrow if it's fine with you. I'm a bit interested in going back there as well,” Alan suggested.

“I’ll just come and pick you up from your home when I get from school,” Hiro replied.

“Sounds good,” Alan agreed.

The duo then traveled to Alan’s new home in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Continuing where this left off.


	48. An Orphan, again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro and Alan go to ask Krei why he adopted him. They were not happy with the answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~2600 words

Hiro wasn’t surprised to find that Krei was living in the tallest skyscraper the city had to offer.

“You sure live fancy,” Hiro joked as they stopped in front of the building.

“Yeah. He even has his own helipad on the roof,” Alan agreed, “though I would much rather live in some small and cozy place.”

“Then you’ll love my place. It’s the coziest,” Hiro replied and looked at Alan meaningfully.

“What are we waiting for?” Alan asked.

“I'm trying to decide whether we’ll go in the through here with a lot of eyes, or if we go in up there,” Hiro explained and pointed up.

“It could be fun seeing Alistair’s face when he sees me come in through the back door,” Alan grinned mischievously.

“Combine that with the realization that his ‘son’ is friends with his arch-nemesis,” Hiro added, grinning as well. “It’ll be glorious.”

“Oh, right, I have friends now. Kind of getting used to the fact,” Alan chuckled. “But how the heck are we going to get up there?”

“Guess,” Hiro replied and moved the Microbots from side to side.

“Are you nuts?” Alan exclaimed when he connected the dots.

“No. I'm just resourceful,” Hiro defended.

“What if we fall?” Alan asked cautiously.

“We won't. And if we do, then the Microbots will break our fall,” Hiro replied.

“Are you coming?” Hiro asked and got closer to the wall.

“What do I have to lose anyway? I have no family and you’re my only true friend,” Alan sighed. “And I'm sort of curious on how you are going to hold on with the Microbots.”

Hiro examined the building's face. To his delight, it was clad in metal panels fastened to the concrete behind with an air-gap in between.

“This is going to be easy,” Hiro mumbled and wrapped Microbots around one of the fasteners and pulled on it. As he had predicted no movement at all.

“Ok, here we go,” Hiro warned and he started hoisting the both of them up the wall. The Microbots were grabbing multiple anchor points at any one time. Thus the stress on individual ones never grew too high.

“Look, a helicopter,” Alan suddenly called out.

Hiro turned his head to look and sure enough, there was a helicopter of one of the local news channels.

“I guess we’re in the news now,” Hiro chuckled.

* * *

BREAKING NEWS

How is your afternoon going dear viewer? Hopefully, your day is going better than mine is right now.

_The camera pans to look at the ground below, showing that they are indeed in a helicopter._

Anyway, my name is Bluff Dunder and I'm here to report on something absolutely crazy. Just take a look at this.

_The camera pans to turns toward the skyscraper which Hiro and Alan are climbing. Though the high reflectivity of the Microbots makes it quite hard to discern what it is._

As you can see, something is climbing up the building's wall like it is nothing.

_The camera shows the reporter's face once more._

I guess we will have to wait and see where this goes.

<Five minutes later>

Looks like whatever has been climbing the wall has just about reached the top. Let’s see if we can get a closer look at whatever it is.

Wait! It looks like whatever it is, is actually a humanoid, no two humanoid creatures.

* * *

Hiro and Alan had had just reached the top when they noticed the helicopter approaching. Presumably to get a better look.

“This is certainly not what I expected to come out of this,” Alan pointed out.

“Yeah, me neither, it certainly is publicity,” Hiro agreed.

The chopper landed in front of them. Hiro was keeping himself and Alan stationary with the Microbots.

“Who are you? Are you aliens?” Bluff Dunder asked. The camera was now pointing at Hiro and Alan.

“Who we are isn’t relevant. But we most certainly are not aliens. What makes you think that?” Hiro replied.

“You don’t look like a human. Jesus that’s reflective,” Bluff Dunder exclaimed as the sun peeked from behind clouds.

Hiro toned the reflectivity down a notch, as to not accidentally focus the solar energy on any one spot.

“Ever heard of Ironman?” Hiro asked sarcastically. “Just because someone is in a suit doesn’t mean that they’re not a human?”

“Oh, silly me,” Bluff Dunder facepalmed. “So you’re superheroes?”

“I am, he isn’t,” Hiro replied.

“Do you have a name?” Bluff Dunder.

“I have a team of heroes,” Hiro revealed.

“So a superhero team? What’s its name?” Bluff Dunder asked.

“Big Hero 7. And I'm its leader and founder,” Hiro replied.

“You heard it here folks. A new superhero team is in town,” Bluff Dunder said excitedly to the camera.

Hiro and Alan used this time to slip inside the building. The Microbots slithering in after them.

“What the? Where did they disappear to?” Bluff Dunder sighed. “I guess that’s it if breaking news.”

* * *

Hiro turned the reflectivity back up now that they were inside.

“That was something,” Alan noted when they walked down the stairs.

“Certainly, though I wonder what my people will do when they find out,” Hiro agreed.

“I have to say that your tiny robots are pretty cool,” Alan complimented.

“Yeah, I'm proud of them as well. Though you haven’t seen their hostile side yet,” Hiro acknowledged the compliment.

“'Hostile side’? They seem pretty harmless, no?” Alan questioned.

“They are anything but. They have enough power to squeeze someone to death and sharp enough to engrave rocks,” Hiro corrected.

“These things, sharp? Don’t look that sharp to me,” Alan pointed out sarcastically.

“That’s because I can control when they are,” Hiro replied. “That’s why Krei is so afraid of me, I'm spiky as a cactus when provoked,” Hiro and turned to look at Alan.

“Ah, here we are,” Alan said and looked for his RFID-key when they got to the door.

“Drat, I forgot my key,” he said after giving up the search.

“Let me open it,” Hiro offered.

“Why?” Alan asked.

“You see, you could open it without the key as well if your device worked better,” Hiro explained. “Wouldn’t it be cool, never getting locked out due to forgetting to bring the key?”

“I see, go on ahead,” Alan smiled.

Hiro grabbed the handle and within seconds the door was unlocked.

“There we go,” Hiro grinned behind his visor.

They walked in and closed the door after.

“Alan, is it you?” They heard Krei call out from the other room.

“Yeah, though I have some things to ask you,” Alan called back.

“Why are we shouting throughout the house. Come here if you have a question to ask,” They heard Krei say.

Hiro gave Alan a slight nod and they headed toward the source of the sound.

“Hi, Alistair,” Alan said when he entered the room Krei was in watching TV. “What are you watching?”

“Just the news. Some crazy people just climbed the tallest skyscraper in the city,” Krei explained.

“Isn't this the tallest building?” Alan asked in fake shock.

“You’re right, it is?” Krei nodded.

“Which means that whoever they are somewhere in or on this building,” Alan reasoned.

“Wait? How did you come through the back door?” Krei turned to look at the kid suddenly.

“Is it that hard to put together?” Alan teased.

“He got some help,” Hiro piped in from the doorway.

“Gah! You. How on earth did you get in here?” Krei asked in a panic.

“Use that small brain of yours to do something useful for a change,” Hiro scoffed. “I climbed the building and then came in through the door.”

“Did you let him in?” Krei asked.

“How could I have? I forgot my key home. He let me in,” Alan explained.

“How on earth is that even possible?” Krei asked in disbelief.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Hiro replied. “Let’s get to the questions.”

“Why did you adopt me?” Alan asked.

“What? Why do you ask?” Krei asked, confused by the unexpected question.

“I heard from a friend about your past endeavors,” Alan replied.

Krei gulped before asking, “So you know about that other kid?”

“Yeah, and I also happen to know about the fire,” Alan replied.

“Don’t say you’re friends with him?” Krei pointed at Hiro.

“Wow, that’s rude,” Hiro exclaimed. “Is he not allowed to have badass friends who get him out of trouble?”

“No, not at all. Of course, it’s fine. I didn’t mean to come across as accusing,” Krei backpedaled.

“So, explanation please,” Alan said. “Why did you adopt me?”

“And don’t even think about lying, it won't stick and only makes me more pissed off,” Hiro warned.

“Got it,” Krei raised his hands defensively.

“I was curious. Your parents were prominent scientists, in the field of brain-computer-interfaces. I was hoping to get access to what they were working on, and adopting their son seemed like the best option,” Krei explained.

“He’s speaking the truth,” Hiro said. “It is up to you Alan. Either you can keep the designs to yourself and do something amazing based on them, or you can give them to Krei, a man who is only interested in his own wealth at the expense of others.”

“What? I'm not self-centered!” Krei asked.

“Oh, really, What about Mrs. Callaghan, The SFIT Fire, and the kid? If that isn’t proof of your gray morals then I don’t know what is,” Hiro vented. “I wouldn’t trust Krei with a BCI or anything else.”

“I have made up my mind,” Alan said after a moment. “I will not be giving you any of their research material.”

“You won't?” Krei asked in shock. “After everything I’ve done for you?”

“You haven’t done anything for me, other than make it impossible to make friends,” Alan replied. “I don’t like living in this building, and I feel that you’re not interested in me, only in my parents. I’d much rather be an orphan than be connected to you.”

“What did you just say?” Krei asked in total shock.

“You heard me right. I'm going back to the orphanage,” Alan spitted out and walked to his room with a brisk pace.

* * *

“Why do you always have to meddle with my plans?” Krei asked in frustration.

“Because I believe in being able to make informed choices. And that includes knowing another person’s history,” Hiro replied. “Besides, he deserves someone more loving.”

“I will have you in jail one day. I promise you that,” Krei blustered.

“We will see about that,” Hiro chuckled.

A few minutes later Alan walked back over to where Hiro was standing, along with a suitcase.

“Come on, Captain. Take me back to the orphanage,” Alan requested.

“Ok, I’ll take you if that’s what you want,” Hiro agreed.

“Definitely, I don’t want to be known as a Krei anymore,” Alan confirmed with determination.

“Then we will go,” Hiro stated and they headed toward the front door.

“You’ll pay for this;” Krei shouted after them before the door closed.

* * *

“You made the right choice,” Hiro noted when they were on their way to the orphanage.

Hiro had switched back to the regular black for the Microbots and was using the clear visor since he had the neurotransmitter still on him.

“You bet. And, um, thanks for helping me uncover the truth,” Alan agreed.

“No worries, that’s what friends are for,” Hiro replied.

“Ah, here we are,” Hiro noted as they arrived at the orphanage.

“I wasn’t expecting to be back so soon if ever,” Alan stated. “But how the heck am I going to explain why I don’t want to be with him anymore?”

“I’ll help you, and the whole convo is on tape,” Hiro replied.

“You were recording it? How?” Alan asked in awe.

“With this,” Hiro replied and pointed to the small camera embedded in the Microbots.

“Just a moment,” he said while transferring the camera’s recording to his phone.

Hiro then released Alan from the Microbots and “removed” his own helmet as well.

“I’ll carry that,” Hiro offered and took Alan’s suitcase.

They walked in through the front door.

“Alan? What are you doing here?” a man in his fifties asked as the teens arrived in the lobby.

“I’ve decided that Krei wasn’t a suitable parent for me,” Alan replied confidently.

“Why is that? With his money I would have thought that you’d be happy,” the man asked with a confused expression.

“I learned about his past actions. And of the reasons why he adopted me,” Alan explained, “I didn’t like what he said.”

“What did he say?” the man asked.

“I have it on video,” Hiro announced.

“How about you share us then. Who are you anyway?” the man asked.

“Hiro Hamada. I’m Alan’s friend,” Hiro introduced.

“How did you meet him?” the man asked curiously.

“I saved him from a bot-fight last night,” Hiro explained. “He goes to the same school as my girlfriend goes to.”

“I see, you have the video?” The man nodded understandingly.

“Yeah,” Hiro confirmed.

* * *

After the video

“I-I have no words,” the man stated in shock.

“Yeah, I was equally shocked when I learned of the truth,” Alan agreed.

“So, can I come back?” Alan asked awkwardly.

“Of course you can,” the man replied.

“Thank you, Mr. Anderson,” Alan exclaimed happily.

“Come, Hiro. I’ll show you my room,” Alan exclaimed happily.

“You go on ahead, I’ll have a few words with Mr. Anderson first,” Hiro said and motioned for Alan to go without him.

“Thank you, Mr. Hamada, for bringing this to the light,” the man said.

“Yeah, someone had to do it,” Hiro replied.

“Aren’t you worried that Krei goes through with his threat?” The man asked worriedly.

“Nah, he doesn’t even know that it was me,” Hiro replied.

“How?” the man questioned.

“Superhero secret identity,” Hiro gave him a crooked smile. “I’m taking a huge gamble with you by the way.”

“I see. How many know?” he asked.

“Only my team, one of my friends, and Alan, but he only knows about me…and you now I guess,” Hiro counted. “So what I'm saying is that you tell no-one.”

“I can keep secrets,” the man said.

“Good, let’s go see what Alan’s up to,” Hiro said and walked in the direction where Alan had disappeared to.

* * *

“Over here,” Mr. Anderson directed Hiro through the maze of corridors.

“There you are! I was beginning to wonder if you had dumped me,” Alan half-joked.

“I wouldn’t. So, this is your room?” Hiro asked and looked around the small room.

“Yeah. It’s not much, but I like it,” Alan confirmed.

“I’ve seen worse. You’re lucky to have a bed. Then again, this isn’t Krei Tech,” Hiro stated.

“Really, where?” Alan asked curiously.

“That’s a story for another day,” Hiro dismissed the question.

“Are we still cool for tomorrow?” Alan asked hopefully.

“I’m totally cool, it’s up to him,” Hiro said and pointed to Mr. Anderson.

“What were you planning?” the man asked.

“We were thinking of going to my old home to see if we can find anything interesting,” Alan replied. “Besides, I’d feel much better knowing that if there is something important that it’d be stored somewhere lived rather than in an empty house, with Krei on the loose and all.”

“I understand. And I see no problem with it,” Mr. Anderson agreed.

“Thank you, Mr. Anderson,” Alan thanked the man.

“I will come to pick him up tomorrow after school,” Hiro said.

“Sound good,” Alan and Mr. Anderson nodded in agreement.

“See you then,” Hiro said and headed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Partial continuation, along with some fortune and some misfortune.
> 
> This chapter broke the 100k word barrier :)   
> I never even in my wildest dreams expect this story to get so long.


	49. Kidnappers and a Thief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alan gets kidnapped and Hiro has to rescue him. Hiro and Alan head over to his old home to retrieve the designs for a better storage place, but their plans get spoiled by certain someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~4200 words

“So, Hiro. What did you learn?” Tadashi asked when Hiro returned home.

“That Krei is not a worthy parent,” Hiro answered.

“How so?” Tadashi questioned curiously.

“He’s more interested in his parents' research than the kid himself,” Hiro revealed.

“That’s cold,” Tadashi noted.

“Yeah, so cold in fact that Alan decided to go back to the orphanage,” Hiro sighed.

“Wait?! Really?” Tadashi exclaimed.

“Yeah, can’t blame him though,” Hiro confirmed.

“It’s really bothering me that you’re not telling me what is so special about him,” Tadashi sighed. “Does he have abilities like you?”

“Yes and no, he has abilities, though they are not natural,” Hiro replied, “though I better wipe that from your memory just in case.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Tadashi defended. “I swear that I won't tell anyone.”

“Fine,” Hiro laughed.

* * *

Hiro’s phone ringed sometime before nine AM the following morning. He looked at the caller and recognized the number as originating from the micro-phone.

He closed his eyes and answered the call using his abilities. That was the best option, considering that he was in a class at the moment.

“Alan? Is something amiss?” Hiro asked when the call connected.

“I'm on my way to school and I feel like I'm being followed by someone,” came the explanation. Hiro could tell that Alan was scared by what was going on.

“I’ll come and check it out. Just continue toward your school, ok?” Hiro instructed.

“Thanks, Hiro,” Alan said gratefully.

“Yeah, call me if anything changes,” Hiro said before hanging up.

“Professor Callaghan?” Hiro raised his hand.

“Yes, Hiro,” Callaghan acknowledged.

“I have to go. A friend is in trouble,” Hiro explained.

“I see, you can go,” Callaghan nodded.

Hiro took his exit quickly. As soon as he was out of the classroom. He swung by their lab to collect some amount of his Microbots. He stored enough there for his armor and some basic transport.

Hiro was on his way toward Alan’s school when his phone started vibrating again. He answered it.

“Hiro, I'm being kidnapped. I'm surrounded by mean looking people and I have nowhere to escape to,” breathed out rapidly. It was evident that Alan was at the edge of panic by this point.

“Where are you exactly?” Hiro urged.

“Hiding behind a dumpster about two blocks from the school,” Alan answered.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ll also call the rest of the team as a backup,” Hiro acknowledged.

“Oh, no. They found me,” Alan cried through the earpiece.

“Don’t touch it!” was the last thing Hiro heard before the phone call ended.

* * *

Big Hero 7 Group Chat

**Techie** **(Hiro):** EMERGENCY!

**Techie** **(Hiro):** My friend has just been kidnapped somewhere near Megan’s school.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Abigail, Dashi. You know what to do.

**Iron** **Lady** **(Abigail):** On it.

**Dashi** : Again? What is up with this city?

**Sister** **(Milly):** Who has been kidnapped.

**Megan:** Is it Alan?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Yeah.

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** Who’s Alan?

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben):** ^

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Not now, we have a situation.

* * *

When Hiro got to where Alan last had been there was a whole lot of nothing. No kid, thugs, nothing.

Hiro punched the wall with Microbots in frustration.

_I should have taken one of Tadashi’s hoodie trackers and given it to Alan._

Soon after Abigail showed up to find Hiro hunched up against the wall.

“Are you alright?” Abigail asked, sitting next to him.

“If by fine you mean being worried sick and feeling like the stupidest person ever, then yes,” Hiro replied. It was obvious that he was not fine.

“We will find him. Do you have any idea who it could have been?” Abigail encouraged.

“Yes, I'm almost positive that it’s Krei,” Hiro replied.

“What would Krei even want from him?” Abigail asked curiously.

“Apparently his parents were prominent scientists and were working on a neurotransmitter of sorts. And Krei wants it badly,” Hiro replied.

“Is-is everybody alright?” Tadashi asked, rushing to the scene.

“Based on the fact that a kid is missing, I’d say no,” Hiro remarked.

“I see, what do we do now then?” Tadashi asked.

“It’s Krei related, but I doubt that he would know where the thugs are keeping Alan,” Hiro sighed, “so we're sort of stumped at the moment I'm afraid.”

Before anyone could get another word out Hiro’s phone dinged a text message.

* * *

Alan’s POV

_Oh god, I hope that Hiro gets here before whoever those men find me._

_Oh, no. They’re getting closer._

_Shit! They found me._

“Don’t touch it!” I tried to stop one of the thugs from taking Hiro’s earpiece.

“Says who?” thug number one asked.

“Not you, that’s for certain,” thug number two mocked.

“What will happen to me?” I asked in fear.

“Mr. Krei wants to get some information out of you,” thug number three said.

I gulped audibly and the thugs just laughed at me.

The thugs then shoved me to a van and I was driven to the docks and dragged into some warehouse, where I was tied to a chair. The thugs just left me there.

After a few minutes, I noticed that they had forgotten to take my phone away from me for whatever reason.

_If only there was a way for me to send a text message of my location…_

Suddenly I remembered what Hiro had mentioned yesterday about opening the lock with my device.

_Wait a minute! My device. Maybe I can control my phone to send Hiro a text message._

I tried to connect to the phone and to my relief I got somewhere, though that was the easy part. Now I would have to figure out how to send a text message using binary instructions.

_If only I remembered how to actually do it. It’s been so long since I used that trick when my parents were still alive._

After countless attempts, I finally managed to create a new message body.

_But what to put on that message?_

_I have no idea how I could get GPS coordinates extracted from the phone, so I guess that I have to resort to a text description._

* * *

Hiro, I hope that you get this message.

I’m being held in some kind of warehouse on the docks.

Krei wants something from me, so please rescue me before Krei comes.

If you can’t make it, I understand.

In the case that I’m dead, consider this my farewell.

Eternally in your debt, Alan.

* * *

_Send._

_I really, really hope that I did this correctly._

_Now the only thing I can do is wait and hope to see my friends again._

* * *

Hiro/General POV

Hiro took out his phone. To his shock, he got a text message from Alan.

“Alan, you’re the best,” Hiro exclaimed triumphantly.

“What is it?” both Abigail and Tadashi asked.

“Alan just sent me a message saying that he’s being held in the docks. He also said to hurry,” Hiro explained.

“What are we waiting for then?” Abigail questioned.

“Let’s get going,” Hiro said and took off with Abigail and Tadashi close behind.

* * *

“Somewhere here,” Hiro whispered to his partners just in case the thugs were still there.

As it turned out, caution wasn’t a bad idea, as soon they spotted a few shady looking characters exiting from a ramshackle warehouse.

“Quick,” Hiro whispered and they quickly took cover behind a shipping container.

The thugs were walking their way. They were soon within earshot.

“I wonder what Mr. Krei wants from that kid,” one of the thugs wondered.

“Beats me. I also hope that no-one comes looking for him,” the second thug agreed.

“Totally, Mr. Krei told us to be prepared for anything if we saw the silver shadow,” the third thug commented.

_‘That’s a cool name. I might snag it,’_ Hiro thought as he listened to the thugs.

“Yeah. And I think we got things handled. The building’s been rigged with remote detonation explosives,” the first thug agreed.

“I think, shit just got real,” Hiro whistled quietly.

“Yeah, I think we have to go for the sneaky approach,” Abigail agreed.

“Language, Hiro,” Tadashi reprimanded.

“Really, is this the right time for that?” Hiro replied sarcastically. “And yeah, stealth it is.”

“So, you’re going to sneak into that building?” Tadashi asked shocked.

“Yes I am,” Hiro replied.

“What if the building gets blown on top of you?” Tadashi worried.

“I have my Microbots to protect myself with,” Hiro reminded.

“I’m still a little wary on this. I don’t want to lose you,” Tadashi hesitated.

“I get it, I really do, but Alan is in there. Someone has to help,” Hiro argued.

That got Tadashi quiet, those were almost exactly the same words he had used to justify running to the fire to save Professor Callaghan.

“Fair enough, you win. Just…be careful,” Tadashi sighed.

“I will,” Hiro reassured and hugged his brother.

“What if you don’t make it out alive?” Tadashi worried.

“Then that makes two of us,” Hiro replied. “Relax, everything’s going to be fine.”

Hiro then peeked around the corner, and to his delight, he saw a side door on the warehouse.

The thugs had turned around and were in the opposite end of the dock area.

Hiro quickly slithered over to the door.

_‘I'm in luck today. Electronic lock,’_ Hiro cheered.

As expected the door was soon open and Hiro slipped inside. He pulled the door closed after him.

Hiro surveyed his surroundings. He was in an office of some sort. Hiro walked over to the other door.

_‘Time to get creative,’_ Hiro thought and slithered his mini camera under the door.

Hiro immediately noticed Alan tied to a chair. This immediately confirmed to him how Alan had sent the message.

Other than Alan, there the room was empty.

Hiro opened the door and quietly walked to the large hall.

Alan was facing away from him. Hiro approached Alan from behind.

Alan apparently heard him and turned his head to look. His eyes lit up immediately when he recognized who it was.

Hiro gestured for him to keep quiet, Alan did so.

Hiro quickly freed the kid from his peril and they vacated the building.

Soon they were back where Abigail and Tadashi were still hiding.

“Thank god, you’re both safe,” Tadashi sighed in relief.

“Yeah. Krei is going to be so pissed when he finds that his precious cargo has been stolen,” Hiro laughed.

“I kinda want to see his face when he realizes that I spoiled his plans once more,” Hiro said. “Though leaving it a mystery might be more fun.”

“Let’s just head back and continue our days,” Abigail suggested.

“Yeah, sounds good. Though I don’t feel safe going about alone anymore,” Alan pointed out.

“That’s fine. I’ll take you back to the orphanage and we’ll come up with some solution,” Hiro reassured him.

* * *

“So, Hiro, did you get my message?” Alan asked when they were on their way to the orphanage.

“I did. That was a genius move by the way,” Hiro complimented.

“All thanks to you. I got the idea because of what you said about using the device on the lock yesterday,” Alan replied.

“Now I doubly want to figure out why it’s so hard to use,” Alan exclaimed.

“And that’s exactly what we’ll do tonight,” Hiro grinned.

“Yeah, totally,” Alan agreed.

* * *

Hiro escorted Alan back to the orphanage.

“Alan? What are you doing here at this time? And Hiro as well?” Mr. Anderson asked in confusion.

“Krei’s henchmen kidnapped him on his way to school. And I had to go and rescue him,” Hiro explained.

“Seriously? Have you told the police?” the man asked.

“No, and will not. The chief doesn’t exactly like superheroes,” Hiro sighed. “I know because his daughter is my girlfriend.”

“That’s irony right there,” the man agreed.

“Yeah, I have to return to school though, see you tonight,” Hiro agreed and headed out.

* * *

Big Hero 7 Group Chat

**Techie** **(Hiro):** And he is safe.

**Megan** : That’s a relief.

**Sister** **(Milly):** Yeah, but who even is he?

**Megan** : Someone he dragged out of a bot-fight Monday night.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Yeah, Megan thought he looked lonely. It turned out we have a lot in common.

**Megan** : Yeah, you certainly do. Neither having parents and all.

**Dashi** : But how did he send you that message?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** With a phone, obviously. So incompetent thugs that they didn’t even confiscate his phone.

**Fanboy** **(Jack):** Wow. That blows (for them).

**Iron** **Lady** **(Abigail):** I'm dying, really?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Yeah, totally. He still had his phone when I got him out.

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben):** When will we get to meet him?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Maybe once he is properly adopted.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Megan, I’ll send you the video footage from these past few hero activities to use as source material.

**Megan** : Thanks, Hiro. I’ll get to work on them soon. My dad is so gonna blow his fuse at these mysterious superheroes.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Yeah, he will. I have school now, bye.

* * *

Later on that day

Hiro was once again at the orphanage.

“Ready to see what has been left behind?” Hiro asked as he walked into Alan’s room.

“You bet! I'm dying to know what’s left behind,” Alan replied enthusiastically.

“Are you expecting to find something special there?” Mr. Anderson asked.

“If I told you. A, Alan wouldn’t like me much. And B, it’s complicated,” Hiro replied shortly.

“I see. Just don’t do anything illegal,” Mr. Anderson remarked.

“We won't. Unless of course, someone tries to kidnap him again,” Hiro reassured.

Mr. Anderson just laughed at Hiro’s comment.

“Let’s get going,” Alan said and pulled Hiro along.

“Ooh, someone’s eager to get home,” Hiro teased.

“Of course I am. I’ll do anything to get this mess sorted,” Alan replied.

“Let’s get going then,” Hiro replied as they took off on the Microbots.

By pure coincidence, they passed by the lucky cat café, so Hiro was able to grab the neurotransmitter and more of his Microbots, just in case they needed it.

He also had the forethought to grab dust masks for both of them. The building would probably be quite dusty after being empty for two years.

“Wow! You have a lot more Microbots than I would have imagined,” Alan complimented as the mass under them grew substantially.

“Yeah. I’ve been making more of them in my spare time,” Hiro explained. “Though I would still like to have more of them.”

* * *

The duo was approaching Alan’s old home, but what they saw when they rounded the corner was shocking.

“Someone has broken in!” Alan exclaimed in shock.

“I wonder who and when,” Hiro wondered.

“Look! A car. Could potentially be of the burglar’s,” Alan pointed the black car out.

“Yeah, probably. There’s no way someone would just randomly park on your driveway. We're pretty far from everything,” Hiro agreed. “And if that’s the case then whoever it is in the building.

“Are you going to apprehend him?” Alan asked.

“I can keep him from escaping until the police arrive,” Hiro grinned.

“Now it’s time for my alter ego to take over,” Hiro replied and switched to silver Microbots and a matching visor. “Also, I now know what the name of my alter ego will be.”

“What is it?” Alan asked curiously.

“Silver Shadow,” Hiro revealed. “I think it’s Krei’s invention; heard one of the thugs use it this morning.”

“That’s a cool name,” Alan agreed. “And fitting too.”

“Now, let’s go in and see who our thief is,” Hiro said and he started moving toward the door quickly but quietly. Alan was walking some distance behind him.

Hiro entered through the busted front door. He noticed a security camera staring directly at him.

_‘Hello, there,’_ Hiro thought and interfaced with the camera in question.

He navigated to the central server and pulled up all of the cameras.

_‘Looks like I'm in luck today,’_ Hiro grinned as he noticed a masked man trashing the library.

Alan caught up to him.

“What are you doing?” Alan asked when he noticed Hiro just standing still and looking at the camera.

“I'm using the cameras for our advantage,” Hiro explained. “Our guy is in the library.”

“Your skills?” Alan raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Hiro nodded.

“Let’s move,” Hiro replied and extended his spikes.

Hiro moved to the library. With Microbots ready to disarm and suppress any possible hostilities.

The thief was too concentrated on searching that he didn’t even notice that he was no longer alone.

Hiro cleared his throat.

The thief froze.

“And who might you be?” Hiro asked authoritatively.

The thief turned around and almost jumped to the ceiling.

“Who are you?” Hiro asked again.

“I-I…P-please don’t hurt me,” the thief cried.

“I won't if you cooperate,” Hiro reassured.

The thief sighed and pulled off his mask.

“I should have expected this,” Hiro sighed.

Yep, the thief was none other than Alistair Krei.

“You just don’t know when to quit, do you?” Hiro remarked.

“And Oh, how did it go this morning? The whole kidnapping thing?” Hiro taunted.

“How…how do you know about it?” Krei asked.

“Think about it,” Hiro replied.

“Anyhow, I’ve got to call the police. I’ve had enough of your BS. This is the final straw,” Hiro remarked and took out his phone.

* * *

_911, What’s your emergency?_

Hi, there is a thief at my friend's old house at the moment.

_Is the thief armed?_

No. And otherwise harmless as well.

_Where are you?_

[Address]

_Is anybody hurt?_

No. No one is injured.

_All right, we’ll send an officer to arrest him._

Thank you.

_Do not close the line until you are given permission to do so._

* * *

Hiro left the line open as requested.

“I guess you’ll be in some trouble,” Hiro grinned. “But I'm willing to not disclose your prior incidents under certain conditions.”

“What kind of conditions?” Krei asked.

“You have to stop with this unethicality in your search for personal gain. Meaning that you leave people alone,” Hiro demanded.

“You have my word,” Krei sighed. “As if I have other options.”

“Why are you even here?” Alan asked as he walked over to Hiro and Krei.

“I could ask you two the same thing,” Krei replied.

“You know it’s a bit rude to trash someone’s library,” Alan remarked. “It’s obvious you were trying to find something.”

“Fine, I wanted to find your parents' research,” Krei admitted.

“There we go,” Hiro cheered.

* * *

The trio moved outside to wait for the police. Hiro kept hold of Krei to prevent any escape attempts, though Hiro doubted that Krei would try that.

A few minutes later a cop car arrived.

To Hiro’s amusement, one of the policemen was chief Cruz himself.

The chief took out his gun and pointed it at Hiro.

“Whoa, easy there,” Hiro exclaimed.

“Surrender at once,” The chief demanded.

“Why? If I may ask,” Hiro asked.

“Because you’re under arrest for breaking and entering,” The chief replied.

“Oh, you have the wrong target,” I'm the one who called.

The chief flustered and lowered his gun.

“Do you have proof?” He asked.

“The house is full of security cameras. I'm sure that they will tell the truth,” Hiro answered.

“But wait? If you’re not the robber then who is?” The chief asked.

“Right in front of you,” Hiro replied and pointed at Krei.

“Is that…Alistair Krei, the CEO of Krei Tech?” The chief exclaimed.

“Yeah, he is,” Hiro replied.

“That’s not possible,” The chief shook his head.

“Cameras don’t lie,” Alan pointed out.

“And who are you?” The chief asked and turned to Alan.

“I'm Alan. I used to live here before my parents died two years ago,” Alan explained.

“Yeah, we decided to check up on the place tonight,” Hiro added.

“I’m sorry,” the chief apologized. “Are you living with relatives?”

“No, I live in an orphanage, again,” Alan replied.

“Again?” The chief raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, Krei adopted me for a week, but it didn’t turn out,” Alan briefly explained.

“Only because _he_ told him about my history,” Krei whined and pointed in Hiro’s direction.

“Your history? What could possibly be so bad?” The chief questioned.

“You can ask _him_ ,” Krei replied and pointed at Hiro.

“What is he talking about?” The chief asked and turned to Hiro once more.

“Oh, if I told you about all of this man’s misadventures then he’d be in for a lifetime,” Hiro replied.

“Really? What has he done?” The chief's curiosity had peaked.

“How about we talk about it at the station?” Hiro asked. “There is a lot to cover.”

“All right, let’s just check the cameras and head out,” The chief suggested.

“Yeah, sure,” Hiro agreed.

He then walked over to Alan and placed a hand on his shoulder.

‘Don’t worry, we’ll come back tomorrow,’ Hiro sent a telepathic message.

Alan smiled slightly and nodded.

“Okay, let’s get those tapes,” Hiro repeated and headed back inside, leaving Krei for the other police officer.

Chief Cruz and Alan followed him.

It didn’t take Hiro long to find the computer terminal from which he could access the recordings.

“You weren’t kidding,” Chief Cruz noted when they were watching masked Krei trash the library.

Hiro downloaded the footage to a thumb drive and they were out of there. Hiro and Alan took used the Microbots.

* * *

Big Hero 7 Group Chat

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Abigail, Ben. Get yourself to the police station ASAP. It’s time to bring Krei down.

**Iron** **Lady** **(Abigail):** Civilian?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Yes.

**The** **Apprentice** **(Ben):** We’ll be there.

* * *

Soon everyone was gathered in a conference room in the police station.

Chief Cruz cleared his throat.

“All right, we have gathered here to learn about Mr. Alistair Krei’s past actions,” Chief Cruz started.

“Mr. …,” Chief Cruz started but stopped when he realized that he didn’t actually know who Hiro was.

“Who are you?” he finally asked Hiro.

“You can call me ‘Silver Shadow’,” Hiro replied.

“I mean what is your real name?” the chief clarified.

“I’d rather stay anonymous,” Hiro replied.

“Alright, Silver Shadow. What do you know of Krei’s activities?” the chief asked.

“Let’s start from the beginning. Mr. Krei was the one to start the SFIT fire,” Hiro revealed.

“Yes, he tried to steal my experimental robot under its cover,” Abigail added.

“That robot that went rampage?” The chief asked.

“Yes,” Abigail confirmed.

“It’s an AI, it got scared and ran away from Krei,” Hiro added.

“What happened to it anyway? It was there and then it wasn’t,” the chief wondered.

“I stopped it and handed it back to its rightful owner,” Hiro explained.

“Alright, anything else around this?” the chief asked.

“Well, not directly,” Hiro replied, “but it does lead into the next incident.”

“Which is?”

“Krei broke into Abigail Callaghan’s home while only her dad was home,” Hiro explained. “By coincidence, I was going over to ask Abigail about the robot. We found her dad tied up in a wardrobe.”

“Did he steal anything?”

“He obtained a set of plans for a neurotransmitter, which was an abandoned Krei Tech project on which Mrs. Callaghan had worked on,” Hiro continued.

“There isn’t really much more about that,” Hiro finished.

“What happens next?”

“I ran into an ex Krei Tech employee completely by accident and he told me that he had seen human experimentation going about somewhere in Krei Tech,” Hiro started the next segment. “Turned out he wasn’t wrong.”

“What kind of experimentation?”

“That is of a private matter. What matters is that Ben here had been subjected to borderline torture for two years whilst living in despicable conditions,” Hiro continued.

“Yeah, living in a padded cell. And daily subjected to electrical shocks as a punishment because I didn’t do something which I, at the time, didn’t even know I could do,” Ben explained. “Two years in almost total isolation. It’s a wonder I didn’t go crazy in there.”

“This is getting crazier by the minute.”

“Well, yeah. Let’s move on to the most recent thing, which happened today morning, while Alan was walking to school,” Hiro continued. “Apparently Krei had hired some thugs to kidnap Alan, and were successful with it.”

“Seriously? Two kidnappings?”

“Though luckily they were incompetent enough to not take his phone away, thus Alan was able to text me his location,” Hiro continued. “Then finally we have this robbery.”

“That is everything I know of Krei doing,” Hiro finished. “Oh, one more thing. Krei is very scared of anything spiky.”

“This is absolutely crazy. I just can’t comprehend it,” Chief Cruz replied.

“I can see that, but may we go about our days now?” Hiro requested.

“Yeah, sure,” the chief sighed.

Hiro and his three friends headed out and their separate ways. Hiro took Alan back to the orphanage before heading home.

Hie then sent the compiled video of superhero work to Megan.

* * *

Big Hero 7 Group Chat

**Techie (Hiro):** Megan, sent you the video. Use it however you want, though keep the Krei part out of things.

**Megan** : Thanks, Hiro. I’ll see what I can do.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** PS, would be cool if you could get it on tomorrow's paper.

**Megan:** Why?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Krei might have a mugshot on the front page.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** I busted him to the police recently.

**Megan** : Really? Who?

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Your dad.

**Megan** : Oh.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** He’s gonna be so pissed when he realizes that he almost had me in his grasp.

**Megan** : Yeah, it’ll be a show for certain.

**Techie** **(Hiro):** Well, talk to you later.

**Megan** : Bye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter changed scope multiple times while writing it. I had no intention of putting Krei to prison when I started writing that portion. It just kind of happened. :)
> 
> Next Time: Hiro and Alan go back to search the house.


	50. This Place is Incredible!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro is in the news. He also explores Alan's old home with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~2400 words

* * *

Thursday morning

Hiro had just grabbed the newspaper from the front door. He looked at the front cover, and as expected Krei was on it.

There was also a smaller headline, “Superheroes in the city?”

Hiro walked back to the café and opened the newspaper.

* * *

San Fransokyo Tribune

**Krei Tech Industries in trouble.**

Krei Tech Industries is under investigation due to its CEO **Alistair** **Krei** having been arrested last night on account of multiple serious crimes.

These crimes include kidnappings and robberies and arson along with a few others, some are against the company and others against Mr. Krei himself.

Krei Tech Industries is also receiving flak for allowing these practices in the first place.

…

* * *

**Superheroes** **in** **the** **city?**

In the past week, there have been multiple instances of mysterious heroes helping out people in need.

One such instance happened a few nights ago when a mysterious person dressed in silver dragged some kids away from an illegal bot-fight and lectured them on the dangers of these bot-fights before calling the cops on the adults.

One of these kids who I interviewed told me that the person had told them that he was the captain of a group called ‘Big Hero 7’.

This leaves me questioning. “Are there more superheroes in the city, or was this just an elaborate prank? Only time will tell.”

* * *

**Major** **Store** **saves** **thousands.**

Major electronics store has reported that two anonymous people helped them catch thieves and in doing so they prevented the loss of thousands of dollars in lost merchandise.

\- Whoever those people were. Thank you.

Those were the exact words used by the general manager of the store.

* * *

**Superheroes in town.**

Tuesday certainly wasn't a regular day for **Bluff** **Dunder** , the news anchor of _7 News_ , a local news channel.

He got to film a self-proclaimed superhero climb the tallest skyscraper in the city using some kind of tech.

Why he decided to do that is unknown. However, we know for certain is that there is a team of superheroes who goes by the name of “Big Hero 7.”

You can find the whole thing here [Link to video].

* * *

Hiro couldn’t help the grin forming on his face.

After a few minutes, Tadashi joined Hiro at the table.

“What’re you reading?” Tadashi asked curiously.

“Just the news. Quite interesting stuff today,” Hiro replied and winked meaningfully.

“Let’s see,” Tadashi hummed and took the newspaper from the table.

“Oh, you put Krei behind bars?” Tadashi asked. “Was about time.”

“Yeah, I did. But it gets better,” Hiro confirmed.

“Apparently our work got somewhere huh,” Tadashi noted when he read the smaller news items about their hero work.

“Yeah, though Megan wrote the one about my work,” Hiro revealed.

“What’s this?” Tadashi raised an eyebrow as he read the one about Hiro climbing the building.

“Did you really?” Tadashi asked in disbelief.

“Obviously. Who else it could have been?” Hiro asked in response.

“Unbelievable!” Tadashi exclaimed. “Why do you have to do these outlandish things behind my back?”

“Would it make you feel better if I told you beforehand that I'm about to do something awesome?” Hiro countered.

“Yes,… no, I don’t know,” Tadashi sighed.

“Don’t worry. I'm not reckless,” Hiro reassured his brother.

“Though I will go and finish what I meant to do yesterday with Alan,” Hiro added.

“Which is?” Tadashi questioned.

“Searching for his parents' research,” Hiro replied.

“Why?” Tadashi asked.

“To move it to a safer place, and two, it must be something major since Krei was going to steal it,” Hiro explained.

“Makes sense I suppose. Will you share what you find?” Tadashi asked hopefully.

“It depends. Maybe if Alan is up for it, since it’s technically his property now,” Hiro hesitated.

“Lame,” Tadashi whined.

* * *

Meanwhile at Megan’s place

“Morning Dad!” Megan exclaimed as his father arrived at the breakfast table.

“Morning. Sleep well?” her dad asked in response.

“Yeah, the newspaper this morning has some wild stuff,” Megan replied.

“What’s it contain?” he asked.

“Just read for yourself,” Megan said and tossed the newspaper to him.

When he had finished reading, his expression had turned into a frown.

“What’s wrong?” Megan asked curiously.

“Those vigilantes got onto the newspaper and now the whole city knows about them,” he grunted.

“Is that a bad thing?” Megan feigned ignorance.

“Yes, because if they get the population in their side I can’t just arrest them or it will be a PR disaster,” he sighed.

“There is still the video,” Megan pointed out.

“Oh, yeah. Maybe I can get a lead,” he perked up.

Megan pulled the video up on the TV.

“Son of a bitch,” he exclaimed when her dad realized who this superhero was.

“What?” Megan asked.

“I almost had him. I was sitting with him in the same room yesterday,” he growled. “He is the reason why Krei got arrested.”

“See, having superheroes is a good thing,” Megan remarked.

“I will have him arrested. There is no question about that,” he said with determination.

_‘Oh boy, Hiro will have so much fun with you,’_ Megan thought.

* * *

Afternoon, At Alan’s old home

“Let’s try this again,” Hiro commented as they arrived at the house.

“Yeah. I can’t wait to see what we’ll find,” Alan agreed. “And while I remember, my parents had a hidden lab in the basement.”

“Really? I bet that the research is in there,” Hiro whispered back.

“Yeah. There is a secret door in the garage and another one in the ‘public’ basement,” Alan replied.

“Let’s scope it out, what do you say?” Hiro suggested.

“Totally,” Alan agreed and the two headed to the garage.

Hiro felt around for anything electronic. He soon found a small keypad hidden in a fake electrical junction box.

“Bingo,” he cheered quietly and hacked the combination.

One of the wall panels slid open and revealed a staircase going down.

“Ready?” Hiro asked.

“Absolutely,” Alan nodded.

Hiro flicked the light switch. Nothing.

“Drat. It’s broken.” Alan exclaimed.

“No, there is no power at all,” Hiro corrected.

Hiro connected to his camera and turned the “night vision-mode” on.

“I can see with my camera, but you’ll have to use your phone,” Hiro informed.

“You can see what the camera sees?” Alan asked. “Cool.”

They then descended the spiral staircase into the darkness.

On the bottom of the stairway, there was a corridor with a blast door wide open at the end of it.

“Talk about security,” Hiro muttered.

“Yeah, though we’re lucky that the door is open,” Alan noted.

They walked through the door and immediately to the right there was an electrical panel.

“Let’s see if we can get some lights on,” Hiro said and examined the panel.

There was a bank of regular breakers labeled things like:

  * LAB – LIGHTS
  * LAB – SOCKETS 1
  * LAB – SOCKETS 2
  * REACTOR – LIGHTS
  * REACTOR – SOCKETS
  * WORKSHOP – LIGHTS
  * WORKSHOP – SOCKETS
  * WORKSHOP – 3Ø SOCET 1
  * WORKSHOP – 3Ø SOCET 2
  * WORKSHOP – 3Ø SOCET 3
  * LIVING AREAS – LIGHTS
  * LIVING AREAS - SOCKETS
  * DOOR



“Reactor? Wonder what that is,” Hiro questioned.

“I have absolutely no idea,” Alan replied.

Then Hiro turned his attention to the other portion of the panel.

There seemed to be few heavy-duty contactors and a control computer, though it was offline at the moment.

One of the contactors was labeled “REACTOR” and the other “MAINS – FAILOVER.”

“No, there is no incoming power here either,” Hiro sighed.

“Hiro, there seems to be something on top of the cabinet,” Alan pointed the sheet of paper out.

“Let’s see,” Hiro replied and grabbed the paper.

* * *

Automatic Failover

The system automatically connects to a secondary source should the primary not provide sufficiently clean energy.

The control computer will do the switch to the backup line automatically.

Return to the primary source has to be done manually from the control computer.

(Only possible once the control computer determines the power to be stable enough.)

The control computer has a battery backup to enable the system to reactivate as well as provide emergency lighting should both power sources be offline at the same time.

* * *

“I guess that the battery ran out,” Hiro commented once he had finished reading.

He then happened to look a bit forward from the panel. He noticed a bank of lead-acid batteries hooked to the panel with cables.

“Would you look at that,” Hiro hummed. “I guess we need a new one.”

“Totally,” Alan agreed. “I suggest we get a new one.”

“Agreed, let’s go shopping,” Hiro nodded and they headed out.

* * *

About 30 minutes later they had a new battery with adequate charge.

“Let’s get this hooked up,” Hiro said and quickly replaced the battery.

Almost immediately, red emergency lights switched on.

Hiro and Alan also observed the monitor on the electrical panel initialize.

_< Total Power outage detected. Check backup batteries.>_

_< Primary power source not available. Switching to “FALLBACK.”>_

They heard one of the contactors pull and just like that, they had lights.

“Now we're talking,” Hiro said triumphantly.

“Let’s check this place out,” Alan said and opened the inner door.

“You haven’t been here?” Hiro asked in confusion.

“Only once, when I was modded all those years ago,” Alan replied. “And even back then I only saw a portion of the lab.”

“Ok, now I understand,” Hiro nodded thoughtfully.

“Wow!” Alan exclaimed as he took in the next room.

“This is not what I expected,” Hiro whistled.

“Totally, if I didn’t know any better I would think that this is just a regular living room,” Alan agreed. “With wooden ceiling and floor to boot.”

“Agreed, let’s check these side rooms,” Hiro suggested.

They chose a door at random. They found it led to a corridor with multiple doors leading from it. It shared the cozy feeling with the living room.

Hiro chose a door and to his absolute surprise, he found himself in a decently sized two-person bedroom with adequate furnishing.

“I had no idea that my parents had all this hidden under our house,” Alan exclaimed as it was revealed that all of these side rooms were similar bedrooms, a total of four. A fifth door led to a shower/bathroom and a sixth to a laundry room.

“This would be a fine place for a sleepover,” Hiro joked.

“Ha-ha, totally. Should we set up camp tonight or tomorrow?” Alan joked back.

“Maybe once we have cleaned this place out,” Hiro commented and turned back toward the common room.

On the opposite wall from the bedrooms, there was a kitchen and a pantry.

“You know what. This place is starting to feel more like a doomsday shelter,” Hiro whispered.

“I get that feeling too,” Alan agreed.

Then they walked through a third door in the common area. The atmosphere change was obvious. Wood paneling had been replaced by painted concrete.

“That’s quite the difference,” Alan noted.

“Yes, it is,” Hiro said and headed to a door, with a “WORKSHOP” sign above it.

Hiro’s jaw dropped when he walked into the room.

“This…this is. This is an absolutely amazing workshop. There is literally every tool one could want in here,” Hiro replied.

There was everything from a CNC 5-axis mill and 3D-printers to more traditional metal and woodworking tools.

“Even better than SFIT?” Alan asked.

“Hands down,” Hiro confirmed.

Next, they headed to the lab.

“Cool, cool. Honey Lemon would love this,” Hiro remarked. “Too bad she never will. Or who knows.”

The lab was a pretty typical science/chemistry lab.

There were only 3 doors left, one was the basement entrance, one was to a room labeled “REACTOR CONTROL”, and a third one led to “ARCHIVES.”

“If this is what I think it is then I don’t know what to say,” Hiro exclaimed as they walked into an unmistakable control room.

The control panel had a few buttons along with a computer interface.

Hiro walked over to the computer terminal and examined it.

It had the following text on it.

* * *

ARC Reactor

STATE: OFFLINE

STATUS: Controlled shutdown, core depleted.

Recommended action: Replace core.

* * *

“Huh, Arc reactor. That’s Iron Man tech,” Hiro whistled.

Hiro and Alan took a look around the control room.

Soon they found the operator's manual.

In it was all of the instruction on how to operate and maintain the reactor.

Hiro looked at the core specifications.

“That’s not so bad, only about 3 grams worth.

“But I bet you it’s going to be very expensive,” Alan added.

“I’ll have to look it up,” Hiro nodded.

Hiro then looked at the general specifications.

“This thing is totally nuts,” Gigawatts of power from a pocket-sized device. “Oh, wow. There are even building instructions in this book.”

“You’re geeking out,” Alan chuckled.

“Yeah, sorry. I guess that I got a bit distracted,” Hiro laughed and put the manual down.

“Let’s check out the archives,” Alan suggested.

“Yeah, right,” Hiro agreed and they headed to the final unexplored room.

“Let’s see,” Alan muttered as he glanced over the filing cabinets. “There, B.C.I.”

Alan pulled open the drawer and examined all of the different folders within.

He stopped on one with the name “Calibration.”

“This could be of use,” he said and handed the folder to Hiro.

Hiro quickly read through the file.

“Jackpot!” He finally said.

“What are we waiting for then?” Alan asked.

“I need a computer for this,” Hiro explained. “How about you come over to my place for dinner and we can take a look while at it?”

“I'm in,” Alan agreed.

“Good. Oh, by the way. This place is incredible,” Hiro noted. “I seriously lucked out with you.”

“Yes, it is, I had no idea all of this was here. What do you mean by lucking out with me?” Alan asked in confusion.

“This place is like the best superhero hideout,” Hiro pointed out.

“Hidden entrance, self-sustainable, working and storage space for equipment,” he listed.

“Do you meant that your superhero group would be working from here, my basement?” Alan asked in amazement.

“I was counting on it. If it’s fine with you,” Hiro confirmed.

“Of course, I'm fine with it,” Alan said hastily. “As long as I get to be in on it. Not fighting or anything but just know you and the like.”

“I don’t see a problem with that,” Hiro smiled genuinely. “Come on, let’s head home.”

“Your home,” Alan pointed out.

“Yes, though you’re welcome over any time,” Hiro added.

“Thanks, Hiro,” Alan said.

The two then left, making sure to lock the blast doors, which made horrible screeching sounds. Hiro made a mental note to oil them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 50th chapter, that's absolutely crazy.
> 
> Next time, some cleaning and adopting.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Christmas On the Move](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28220790) by [JanneKek](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JanneKek/pseuds/JanneKek)




End file.
